Aerial Perspective
by TokehGecko
Summary: AU TimeTravel Fic; A future Naruto suddenly pops up and takes the present Naruto with him to the future... To train him and prepare him for what's to come. Pairings: Not sure yet.
1. Prologue

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: AU – Timetravel

* * *

"Ramen! Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!"

Iruka chuckled with his teeth showing and his eyes closed, while his hand was ruffling the little Naruto's hair. "Naruto. You know you should watch what you eat, right? It might prove disadvantageous for you in the long run."

The blonde fresh Genin waved the comment away with a shake of his hand and started chomping down the Ramen, making Iruka believe he would eat the bowl too… almost. After he finished one bowl, the little guy winked at his teacher. "You know, you say those things every day, Iruka-sensei, but today… You sound different. Who are you?"

Waving his hands frantically, Iruka smiled and nervously started uttering "Don't be ridiculous, Naruto! It's me!"

Naruto snorted loudly. "I'm a Genin now, you know. You can't fool a Genin from Konoha that easily! Release your Henge!"

"Really… To be honest, not even a Jounin would be able to see through me with this ability." The fake Iruka stated seriously. "But then, I'm trying to imitate the one person you know the best. I figured I wouldn't be good enough to fool myself…"

Teuchi, the owner of the Ramen Shop, had his back turned towards the duo and couldn't hear anything they were talking about over the sounds of boiling water. So, when he turned around, he was completely stupefied to see both Naruto and Iruka gone…

"Damn it! Not you too, Iruka! You two had better pay up next time I see you!!" Came the old man's yell a second later. "Ayame! Where are you?!"

* * *

**Aerial Perspective**

_Prologue_

* * *

"Where are we? Who are you?! What are you going to do, fake Iruka-sensei!"

"Calm down, you little brat. Damn, I never knew it was this noisy." The Chuunin muttered as he was dragging Naruto with him. "Don't worry, I'm on your side."

Naruto roughly pushed the older man's hand away from his sleeve and glared up at him. "What makes you think I believe you?!" He yelled again.

Iruka glared right back and then grinned a second later. "Very well, Naruto."

What happened next astounded Naruto greatly. Iruka-sensei slowly but surely changed into someone else. Someone who looked a lot like his idol, the Yondaime Hokage. "W-What?!"

Where before the Konoha Chuunin Umino Iruka stood, now a man with a black cloak with dark red flames on the ends of the sleeves and the cloak itself was standing. "I'm you, about thirty years from now. A bit more, but who the hell cares? I came to warn you, against orders from my comrades."

"Me? You're me? That's impossible! I have Comrades? Wait, you're lying! You can't be me! Who do you think you're fooling?! The great Uzumaki Naruto?! Dream on, me-wannabe!" The little Naruto laughed as he pointed at the taller Naruto. "You should have tried this in the morning, mister!"

The taller man actually chuckled at that, but sighed before he started talking again. "I'm doing something that has never been done before. I truly am from the future. Right now, I've brought you back to my time. I currently enjoy the rank Nidaime Uzukage. I am forty-eight years old, but still look like I'm twenty-three."

"Ahhh… What's an Uzukage?"

"It means I am the leader of Whirlpool Country, Naruto."

"Hah, that proofs it! A future me would definitely become Hokage! Leader and protector of Konoha! You're a fraud! I can see right through you!" Naruto shouted as he, again, rudely pointed his finger in the future Naruto's face.

"Well, you don't have to believe me. You just have to listen to me." The older one stated as he pushed the offending index finger away. "Naruto, I'm going to train you, make you stronger so you can make a difference! The future right now isn't as bright as we want it to be. Your real problems start when the Kyuubi inside of you is no longer watching your back... and front."

"You know about the Kyuubi? Who are you?!"

Future Naruto sighed. "I told you. I am you thirty-six years from now. I have mastered many things no Shinobi has ever mastered. Time Travelling is one of those."

"I told you, I don't believe you! I'm just going to call you Fake Me! Or Fake Naruto! There's only one Naruto-sama! And that's me!" He pointed his finger against his own chest. "You can try as hard as you want, but you won't be me!"

The Uzukage shrugged. "I guess you're right, I'm not you. But then, you will be me, some day. I simply WAS you. How about some proof, then? I know for a fact that you only have three orange jumpsuits and that you have to wash them every day! I also know you're completely in love with Haruno Sakura! I know you want to have friends, but no one wants to be friends with you! I know you've cried yesterday night, when Mizuki attacked you and Iruka-sensei. Before that, you haven't cried since you were five years old." A sigh, before he decided to continue. "I know you want to beat Uchiha Sasuke so you can show the entire Academy that you're not a dead-last! And the most important thing… I know what happens to you every single night…"

At that, the younger Naruto's eyes widened. "I… You can't!"

Future Naruto nodded his head sympathetically. "I know, Naruto… It's a side effect of the Shiki Fuin being used on you. But, I've created a seal to speed up the process."

Little Naruto frowned, not understanding at all.

"Every night, for a full hour, you go through excruciating pain, starting from your stomach, your seal, and ending with your brain, the one thing that controls your entire body. What's actually happening is… A Chakra Collision. Your Chakra, the Kyuubi's Chakra and the Shiki Fuin's Chakra left on the seal on your stomach by the Yondaime Hokage."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, mister. But do you mind just taking me back home? You're creepy."

A chuckle came as response. "That's what I would say too, yeah. But I'm telling you the truth. You have to believe me. If you do, then maybe, we can save a lot of Shinobi and a lot of Villages. You're real Genin Exam starts tomorrow, right? With Hatake Kakashi as your Jounin Instructor."

"Pf, everyone knows that already. Don't think you can convince me just like that. From the future, yeah right!"

'Man, I was a real piece of work back in my younger days…' The older blonde simply shook his head with a grin plastered on his face. "We're going to train for four months. After that, my time will be up and all will be left in your hands."

"Four months?! Are you crazy?! I'm a busy guy, I'm a Genin now! I'm going to have missions!"

"No worries, I'll teleport you back just in time for your Genin Examination. I want to make sure you don't need any training anymore before you go back…"

"So… Where are you taking me now, then?"

"Fukasaku… We'll start with the easiest training…"

* * *

**Four months later…**

"Namikaze-sensei… How come you are the leader of Whirlpool and not Leaf?"

Future Naruto slightly dropped his head. "Because Konoha was destroyed. I want you to make sure that doesn't happen. Can you do that?"

The younger blonde smiled sadly. "I will… I'll make sure we're going to have a better future. With this…" He took a look at his own hands. "I'll destroy everyone!"

* * *

**Back at the Present**

"Saaa… I have with me two bells. These bells are your objective; Capture these and you're Genin straight-away. You have until sunset. If you have no bell, you're going back to the Academy and can try again next year. Understood?"

"But there are only two bells, Sensei!" The pink-haired thirteen year old Genin asked.

The Copy-ninja tilted his head and grinned behind his mask. "Yup, there are! Very observant of you, Haruno Sakura!"

The Uchiha Avenger standing next to her, snorted. 'So one of us will fail, anyway? It definitely won't be me!' Sasuke thought as he quickly hid himself in the bushes. Sakura followed suit, while Naruto was frowning at the famous Hatake Kakashi.

'I wish Future Me had told me what this test was about, damn it…'

"You're a bit off, Uzumaki Naruto-kun." Kakashi let out as he stared at the short Genin.

"The only thing that's a bit 'off' is your hairdo!" Naruto shouted. 'I'm not allowed to reveal too much, so… I might as well sit this one out until I know what to do with this weird guy.'

Kakashi double checked his vision as he saw Naruto hide as well. 'Strange… I expected him to rush at me immediately. Perhaps he's not the hothead Hokage-sama told me he was…' And then, his mind realised another thing. 'His clothes… They were special, weren't they?'

The Copy Ninja's eye suddenly widened. 'I can't sense Naruto! Sasuke and Sakura are easy to locate, but… How strange. Doesn't matter, I guess I'll have to smell him out.' The Jounin thought as he focused Chakra to his nose. 'Ah, there he is…'

Tilting his head back down as to indicate he was not worried about anything, he pulled out a book from one of his many pockets and started reading. "You know, if you don't come at me with intent to kill, you won't get these bells!" He spoke out loud as he chuckled strangely at a picture in the book he was reading.

Half a mile away from Kakashi's position, Naruto wasn't even thinking about the test, but more about what his Future Self had told him. Certain events scared him, but he promised he would do anything in his might to prevent all of them. He had just returned from the future three hours ago and watched his future self die right in front of his eyes. At the same time, Future Naruto's last warning came to mind.

_'This is what happens when you time-travel too much, Naruto… Your body just can't handle the Space…'_

'I'll find a way to perfect it, Namikaze-sensei…' Naruto thought to himself. 'I'll find a way to perfect everything.'

Turning his attention back to his current objective, Naruto decided to get closer to his Jounin Instructor again, only to see Sasuke buried in the ground, with just his head sticking out. 'Now that's funny!' Naruto chuckled inwardly.

All of a sudden, a female scream came from his right and Naruto dashed towards the location in awesome speed. 'That was Sakura-chan!'

Observing from a bit further away, a certain eye narrowed. 'That's… too fast. Hokage-sama hasn't told me Naruto was that quick…' Kakashi thought as he followed after Naruto.

Landing on the ground before an unconscious Sakura, Naruto sighed in relief. 'No harm comes to Sakura-chan!' He declared in thoughts. "She was caught in Genjutsu, hm?" He murmured, only to widen his own eyes at the sudden presence of his new teacher behind him. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Question…" The Sharingan wielder started. "How come you know a Genjutsu was used on her?"

"Uhmmmm… Lucky guess?" Naruto nervously uttered.

"Lesson three: Taijutsu!" The blonde gritted his teeth as he was smashed into a tree by the kick he received in the stomach. He quickly jumped up and looked around, only to find out Kakashi was gone. "Quick recovery time, Naruto. You're not too shabby." Came a voice from all around him. 'He's better than I thought…'

'If I can beat Kakashi, I get a bell, but… Namikaze-sensei told me I would be in a team with Sasuke and Sakura-chan. Besides that, I'm a long way from beating Kakashi if I can't use my Kinjutsu…' He thought to himself. 'I'll have to continue my training after this…'

Kakashi, up in the trees, smiled to himself as Naruto went into hiding again. 'He's supposed to be looking for me, but he won't stop hiding. Very unlike the character that was described to me. If one could be provoked, it would've been you, Naruto. What doesn't make sense here?'

Sasuke was panting as he had finally managed to get himself out of the ground. 'Damn that Kakashi, he's gonna pay for this…' He calmed down and took a look at his surroundings. 'Sakura and that dobe haven't done anything yet, but then again, even if they do, they'll achieve completely nothing. It's up to me to finish this.'

"Ah, you're up and about again, Sasuke?" Came the lazy voice of his future Jounin Instructor. "I almost forgot about you."

"Katon; Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!" The Uchiha breathed out, but the Copy-nin easily sidestepped the Fire Ball. This time, his hands fell on his knees after using the Technique.

"Out of Chakra, Sasuke? You shouldn't poor too much Chakra in a Technique that's bound to miss your opponent. If anything, you should've used too little and make it into a diversion."

"Shut up!" The raven-haired boy shouted out. "Just… watch!" He said as he performed handseals again.

This time, Kakashi appeared behind him and had the Uchiha's right hand locked in his left. "That would've been lights out, Sasuke. You definitely need control. But you sure don't lack motivation to hurt me." He grinned. 'His temper is quite worrisome…'

"Yo, sensei!! Let go of him!!" Kakashi glanced sideways to see five Narutos running towards him.

'Kage Bunshin, huh? Impressive for a Genin, but… it won't work.' The grey-haired veteran slammed all five Shadow Clones down in the blink of an eye, before he realised none of them were the real Naruto. Many Kunai and Shuriken came flying towards him as soon as he did. 'Kage Shuriken and Kage Kunai? I didn't know he could do that…' The CopyCat wondered as he vanished and appeared a few meters to the right, watching the many Kunai and Shuriken make impacts on the ground he stood before.

'I can't sense him, I can only smell him and...' Kakashi's eye narrowed. 'This is impossible for a Genin. I should be able to hear his movements! This means I have to rely on my nose to locate Naruto.'

A short distance away, one Haruno Sakura awakened. "Where am I?"

"We're on a training ground. I don't know which one this is." Came an answer from above. The pink-haired girl looked up to see Naruto standing on a tree branch. "I don't know what to do, Sakura-chan. Kakashi-sensei is a lot stronger than us."

"Naruto! Leave me alone! Where is Sasuke-kun!?" Was the immediate and harsh reply out of the pinkhead's mouth.

The blonde knuckle-head sighed and pointed his finger in a direction in front of him. "Sasuke's out of Chakra. He can't do anything right now."

"Shut up, Naruto! Sasuke-kun can always do something! He's the number one in our class, you idiot!" Naruto looked dumbfounded as Sakura ran in Sasuke's direction.

"Ahh… ok?" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I never knew Sakura had so little Chakra in her…" He wondered out loud.

* * *

"Ah, Sakura! Back in the land of the living? How was your little nightmare?" Kakashi asked as he flipped a page. Behind him, Sasuke was panting. The Jounin was humiliating Sasuke even further by turning his back towards him. "Perhaps you have a bit more fight in you than Sasuke has?"

"That's impossible! No one has more fight in him than Sasuke-kun has!!" Sakura yelled.

"I don't think I have to stop reading for this…" Kakashi deadpanned. "Come at me, Sakura."

Sakura rushed forward, making Kakashi frown. 'How sloppy… She runs so slowly, holds no weapon in her hands, is not gathering any Chakra or making any handseals and she's… so emotional.' Hearing movement from behind as well, Kakashi vanished just in time to make Sakura collapse right into Sasuke, who was just about to attack the Jounin from behind.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun! I'm sorry!!"

"Get off of me!!" Sasuke roughly pushed Sakura off of him. "Stay out of this, you're way too weak!"

Taking one step away from Sakura, Sasuke started panting again. 'Shit! Why am I so tired?!'

"Sasuke-kun? Are you alright?" Sakura rose from the ground and hesitantly approached the Uchiha. "Sasuke-kun?"

"Sasuke-teme!" Both Sakura and Sasuke turned their heads to see Naruto behind them. "You don't look so good!" He exclaimed loudly.

"Be quiet, you dobe! I haven't seen you try anything yet!" The Uchiha reacted.

Naruto shrugged. "I will, I guess…"

"As if, Naruto! If Sasuke-kun won't succeed, you won't either!!"

Kakashi frowned as he saw the trio standing together. 'Somehow, they look funny when they stand close to each other like that. Now then, I wonder how Naruto will fight me. His speed and stealth is on a very high level.' And then, his eye widened. 'T-That's impossible!! When did he…?!'

Naruto grinned to himself. "You said anything goes, Kakashi-sensei. You were too busy watching Sakura and Sasuke to notice me right next to you!"

'… Right next to me?' The Copy-nin wondered. 'How?'

In the blonde's right hand, were two bells dangling. "I'm a Genin now, straight-away. I'm giving this other bell to BOTH Sakura and Sasuke, so they both can be in my team!" He decided. "Time to train your new team, sensei!!"

Sasuke and Sakura both looked like dead fish as they were staring at the bells in Naruto's hands.

* * *

"Hokage-sama."

The old man averted his gaze from the papers on his desk to the former ANBU Captain in front of him. "What is it, Kakashi?"

"I have a report on my Genin Examination. Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke have all passed. Within the hour." He spoke with definite suspicion in his voice. "Something strange happened. I regret to inform you that I did not have my Sharingan activated to know what actually and exactly happened."

"Ah, elaborate further, Kakashi." The Third ordered as he rose from his seat. "I can tell you're a bit upset. This must be something serious."

Kakashi bowed shortly. "Haruno Sakura has performed below average, but holds promise if guided properly. Uchiha Sasuke is above the average Genin already, although he needs to be set straight in certain cases. Uzumaki Naruto however… He has shown almost nothing but more than the other two."

The Third chuckled. "Almost nothing? So Sakura and Sasuke or less than almost nothing?"

"Hokage-sama. Naruto's strong. Stronger that you've told me."

"Of course he is. He surpasses every opinion, that's just what he does. Remember that, Kakashi."

"…" Kakashi stared hard at the Sandaime, only to sigh. "Understood, Hokage-sama. If anything, I'm sure I'll be enjoying teaching this team."

* * *

"Kurenai-sensei, Kurenai-sensei… Who the hell IS Kurenai-sensei, anyway?!" Naruto muttered to himself as he was walking through the streets of the village. "Namikaze-sensei told me to find her as soon as I could, but… Couldn't he have told me what she looked like?!"

"Oy, if it isn't Naruto… What brings you out here so late?"

Naruto looked up from the ground and his pondering to see Shikamaru and an old guy looking like the former. "Shikamaru?"

"Ah, this is my father." Shikamaru lazily explained as he saw Naruto gaze at the older man. "He's drunk, obviously. My mother forced me to drag him back home. Managed to make me deaf on one side in the process." He said as he rubbed his right ear. "So, you haven't answered the question, Naruto."

"Huh? What question?"

The younger Nara slapped his forehead. "As troublesome as always, huh, Naruto? What are you doing out so late? I already told you my reasons."

"Ah!" Naruto seemed in deep thought. "I'm looking for this woman named Kurenai-sensei?? Maybe you can help me?"

The black-haired Genius-gonnabe shook his head. "The name sounds familiar, but… I can't help you."

"You're looking for Kurenai?" The older Nara suddenly slurred. "Haha, a young brat like you, looking for the cutest woman of Konoha?"

"Hey! You said mom was the cutest!" Shikamaru suddenly interjected.

"I say that when she's around, son." Shikaku immediately reacted. "But Kurenai, huh? You might find her at a training ground this time around. Heard she was training a fresh Genin Team this year."

Shikamaru frowned. "Ah, that's right. She's the Jounin Instructor of Kiba and the two silent ones of our class."

"Silent ones?" Naruto asked. "Who are they?"

"Hyuga Hinata and Aburame Shino, obviously. Sheesh, Naruto, you never pay attention, do you?" He then started dragging his father again. "See you around, you bothersome guy." The Shadow user half-yelled over his shoulder.

Naruto simply stared. 'He really is a strange guy, that Shikamaru.'

* * *

"What's wrong, Hinata?"

"Someone's approaching us, Kurenai-sensei. But… this person doesn't seem to be having any Chakra. My bugs tell me they are… confused?"

Yuuhi Kurenai tried to sense any Shinobi or Villager in the area, but found none. Even a Villager lets out some Chakra Presence… "Hinata, you can see him?"

The blue-haired girl nodded her head as she had her Byakugan activated. "Y-Yes!"

The black-haired Jounin frowned at Hinata's reaction. 'A relative, maybe? Her father, perhaps?'

"I can smell him. It's that dead-last, Naruto. I can recognise that horrible smell anytime, anywhere!" Kiba shouted, as always. "Let's continue, already! That guy's worth nothing, anyway!"

"Peculiar. Before, my bugs always seemed… agitated, whenever Naruto-san is around. But now, he doesn't seem to have a Chakra Presence? What has happened to him?" Shino wondered and turned to his Instructor. "Can you sense him, Kurenai-sensei?"

"Tcheh, it's not like it matters, Shino! That guy had so little Chakra, having nothing is just about equal!" The Inuzuka chuckled at his own joke. "We've wasted enough time talking about him already!"

"Something's wrong, Kiba." Kurenai suddenly and very seriously stated. "To emit no Chakra at all… You have to be either dead or… extremely skilled. As in, Jounin Level."

Shino's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "I see."

"He is… He seems to be…" Shino, Kiba and Kurenai turned to the stuttering Hinata, who was also blushing a bit. "He seems to be calling your name, Kurenai-sensei!"

"That's odd… I've never talked to Uzumaki Naruto before. Are you sure he's not looking for any of you three?" Kurenai asked.

"Heh, that idiot has no friends, so he automatically has no one to look for, Kurenai-sensei!" Kiba laughed. "I mean, no one ever talks to him! He always talks to everyone, but we all just ignore his annoying sounds!"

"Kiba." Kurenai sternly started. "You're saying he has no friends and are laughing about it? That's harsh."

And then, all of a sudden, Naruto was standing behind Hinata, whose eyes widened even further. She deactivated her Byakugan and turned around swiftly to see Naruto grin at her. "Yo, Hinata! Can you help me find Kurenai-sensei!?"

Kurenai's eyes narrowed dangerously. 'Still no signs of any Chakra… But that speed was too fast for a Genin.' She then took a look at his clothes. Completely black. Black gloves, black belt, black T-shirt, Black pants, black sandals, black hitai-ate… and a black symbol on his belt. The symbol meant 'Uzumaki?'

"I am Yuuhi Kurenai. You must be Uzumaki Naruto. Can I help you?" Kurenai started, still trying to figure out why she couldn't sense him when he was just standing in front of her.

"Yes!" The blonde Genin bowed. "I must learn how to use and defend against Genjutsu! It is my weakness!" He was still bowing when Kurenai nodded her head and a gentle smile appeared on her face.

"Your weakness, you say!?" Kiba started. "Man, if I could make a list of your weaknesses, I think I'll be making the thickest book there is!!"

Shino kept silent, while Hinata was fidgeting, obviously feeling uncomfortable. "No, Kiba. You must learn from this. Naruto-kun has confirmed his weaknesses and has come to me for aid. It takes guts to confirm your own weaknesses." She then faced Naruto. "But I'm afraid I have to disappoint. I have my own team and if I'm not mistaken, Kakashi is your teacher now? He can help you with Genjutsu as well."

Naruto shook his head instantly. "But you're better than him in Genjutsu! Please help me!" He bowed.

The Jounin didn't know how to react to the sudden praise. It doesn't happen often that someone tells you you're better than the famous Copy Ninja. Not often at all. "Well… Even if that's true, I still won't be able to help you."

"Hey, man! Leave our sensei alone, Naruto!" Kiba yelled. "She's ours!!"

Naruto gazed at Kiba and then back at Kurenai, remembering what his Future Self had told him.

_'Some people just won't help you because of what's inside you, Naruto… But just ignore those people. There are more ways than one to get where you want to go.' _A sudden memory came to mind at the rejection he felt. Namikaze-sensei told him this once...

Kurenai held in a cringe as Naruto suddenly glared at her. But it was no anger that he was directing at her. It was more… disappointment and blame. "Fine." The blonde muttered darkly as he turned away.

* * *

"Why is she so afraid of you?"

Sasuke had his arms folded over one another and didn't seem to care about his surroundings. 'Really… Chasing stupid cats and fixing pointless fences… Ridiculous.'

"I don't know… So strange…" Naruto answered as he stared at the shivering cat in front of them.

"Kakashi, we've captured the cat." Sasuke suddenly stated. "We can go back now." It wasn't a question at all…

Naruto shrugged himself away from the cat as Sakura picked her up. "Let's go back." She said.

* * *

Naruto was sitting on a tree branch, reading a book and chuckling occasionally. On the ground, leaning against the same tree, was Sasuke, pretending to be sleep so the girl in front of him, Sakura, wouldn't talk to him. 'Heh, Kakashi's always late. Thank god I was able to buy this book.'

"Naruto. Don't you think you're a bit too young for that book?"

The blonde shut the book and grinned upwards, right into the face of Kakashi. "I have no parents telling what not to do, Kakashi-sensei."

"That doesn't mean you can do anything you want." He replied as he jumped down and greeted his other two students. "Alright, let's head for a Mission, shall we?"

As they were slowly walking through the Village, Naruto started listing the Techniques he knew and what his Future Self told him not to use if he could help it. 'No Fuuton Techniques, no Maton Techniques, no Fuinjutsu, no Sage Mode, no Fox Mode, no Youkon, no Kinjutsu except for the Kage Bunshin, no over the top Chakra Techniques and… what were those others? Oh yeah, he told me last resorts ARE last resorts. Trump Cards shouldn't ever be used…'

"You have any objection against this? I was planning to give you another D-Ranked one, but with you as their sensei, I'm sure you'll be able to do a C-Rank now." The Hokage's voice came sudden as soon as he heard 'C-Rank.' Naruto's eyes widened gleefully as he stared at the old man in front of him.

"Are you for real, old man?!" Was therefore his sudden and loud reaction.

"Naruto! Show some respect!" Naruto blinked and just then noticed Iruka was sitting next to the Third. He hadn't seen his former teacher for months! Well, the other way around, Iruka hadn't seen Naruto for days…

"Ah, Sorry, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto bowed. "But seriously!? This is awesome!!"

Sasuke smirked. 'Finally, something better than picking weeds.'

'C-Rank? Will we be alright?' The remaining member of Team 7 thought. 'I hope Kakashi-sensei knows what he's doing.'

"The mission is simple; Escort a bridge-builder back to the Wave. There shouldn't be any trouble doing this and I believe with you there, the client is very lucky." The Hokage said as he looked at Kakashi. "Good luck, team 7!"

"Kakashi-sensei, you guys go on ahead, I need to ask the old man something." Naruto said as his team had already turned for the door.

"Naruto! Respect, remember?!" Came Iruka's voice again. "Little brat!"

Naruto chuckled nervously. "Right, Hokage-sama."

The Sandaime simply smiled. "Can I help you, Naruto?"

"I need help with Genjutsu. I've already asked Kurenai-sensei, but she said she has no time." It amazed the Third that the blonde Genin was actually bowing. "I know no one else."

"I'm surprised you know Kurenai is talented with Genjutsu, but I'm even more surprised to see you interested in it." He paused to see no reaction from Naruto. "To be very honest, Naruto, you are not the type for Genjutsu."

"Exactly!" Naruto's head rose from the bowed position. "I'm completely helpless when it's used against me!"

The Third's eyes narrowed a bit. "You're awfully bright today, aren't you? You have a point by saying it's your weakness. There are many Genjutsu wielders in Konoha, but only few can teach it to others. Besides Kurenai, there are…" Naruto and Iruka watched as the Third was thinking. "Four."

Naruto nodded his head, hoping he would get some names now.

And indeed, the Third granted his wish. "Two of them might be able to work with your… special Chakra Situation. Mitarashi Anko and Uzuki Yuugao. They're both very busy, so I'll ask if they feel like helping a Genin when I see them. You WON'T look for them, understood?"

Naruto swallowed nervously at how serious the old man was about this. "Yes!"

* * *

_"Listen up, Naruto. There are people out there not hesitating to kill you or your precious people. I want you to be ready for people like that. Don't show them any mercy; don't give them a single chance! You need to be ready to KILL them before they kill YOU or any of your friends or… family. Please, Naruto, you have to understand… I made mistakes, I let my enemies live and paid the price for it. I don't want you to make the same mistake."_

Naruto's eyes hardened as he followed his sensei, the bridge builder Tazuna and his teammates out of Konoha.

'Don't worry, Namikaze-sensei… I won't let you down.'

TBC

Next Chapter: Flashbacks on how the training of Naruto went with his Future Self!


	2. Start Revealing

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Author's Note: Yo! I've invented a whole new System for Techniques for this fic!! Check the Note at the bottom to understand…

--

_"Urgh!!"_

_Namikaze Naruto looked at the younger version of himself and couldn't help but remember how his own reaction to this particular food was quite the same. "Naruto. This food actually makes it harder for you to concentrate your Chakra. Deal with the horrible taste and you'll find yourself progressing a lot quicker then you'd normally do in training. Now, create two-hundred Shadow Clones."_

_"Aye, sensei!"__ A handseal later, and the clearing couldn't really be called a clearing anymore. _

_"Now, you'll work on gathering Sage Chakra with a hundred clones, while the other hundred clones will prevent you from turning into a Toad. So, there will be a hundred Kage Bunshin holding the tool Fukasaku usually uses this to stop the Toad Transformation."_

_Next to his ankle, an aged toad chuckled. "Interesting. I knew you would come up with something diabolical, Naruto-chan. Even though it's so obvious…" Fukasaku looked up at the near to fifty year old Naruto. _

_"Thanks to these, we can keep on going without any rest. I've had these especially made for me or well, THAT me." Naruto said as he pointed at his younger self. "Sakura perfected these two pills for me and they work against the effects of the Kage Bunshin and Chakra Depletion."_

_"It is refreshing to see you try so hard again." The old Toad commented as he observed the small Naruto in front of them. "Of all of the people who have come here, you and Jiraiya were ultimately the only ones capable of using the Sage Chakra. Now that I've finally seen the third, it's just you again."_

_The Uzukage chuckled shortly. "Fukasaku-shishou, after this, we'll have to work on his Youkon and Maton Techniques. Only after he has mastered the Sage Chakra, will he be able to do these."_

_"Won't it be wiser to work on his Fuuton and Fuuinjutsu first?"_

_The older blonde shook his head. "No. As I've realized, Fuuinjutsu came naturally to me as soon I worked on it. I will leave him with the basics. I will show him all of my Fuuton Techniques, and he'll be able to improve on them, knowing myself."_

_"Hmm, you're turning him into a Sage at age thirteen, Naruto-chan."_

_Fukasaku raised an eyebrow at Naruto, who wore a big smile as he looked down at him. "Well, I've always wanted myself to be really strong. And… I've always liked myself! He, I, well, WE deserve it!"_

_"As long as you also tell him of every risk that comes with every technique."_

_"Of course."_

--

**Aerial Perspective**

_- Chapter 1: Start Revealing_

--

_"Fuuton: Rasenshuriken no Jutsu!!"_

_"Holy…" He didn't know what to say as he watched his future self perform such a humongous and awesome and… well, EVERYTHING kinda Jutsu._

_As the Technique died down, the Uzukage turned to him and grinned at the unbridled enthusiasm. "This… is currently one of my weakest Fuuton Techniques, Naruto. You're in for a wild ride!"_

_"Oh hell yeah!!"__ His scream echoed as both him and the older Naruto were standing in a crate half the size of Konoha…_

--

_"So, if you can time-travel like that… Why don't you just go back in time and kill the ones responsible for what happened to Konoha?"_

_"It's not that simple. The people having done this, don't know they're going to, in the past. In fact, there are a few who were even forced to do bad things, because others didn't have the power to do it. So good people have done bad things because they didn't know any better. Or even worse, someone outside of even MY knowledge, threatened to kill precious people." He then hung his head down low. "Allow me to give you a few names and a few hints, Naruto."_

_The younger blonde nodded eagerly._

_"Uchiha Madara. He will threaten someone close to you in order for you to do something for him. Something he himself is incapable of because he doesn't have the Chakra to do it. Just… I know you're young and most of the things I'm saying probably mean question marks for you, so I've also written down a lot in a Blood Scroll only able to see for our eyes. Heh, not even a relative can see it. Not that we have any."_

_Naruto nodded, with a frown. He truly didn't understand everything he had just heard, but it was written down, so…_

_"Uchiha Sasuke. He is someone who needs help. His eyes are being held in the wrong direction by the people around him. I want you to set him straight. You'll understand once you really get to know him."_

_"Uchiha Sasuke? Man, that bastard really is that big of a deal even in your life, this much in the future? That sucks!" The little boy whined loudly._

_"There are many more, but these two are probably the most bothersome. Be careful whenever you encounter this Uchiha Madara." He narrows his eyes as he looked at the smaller Naruto. "The first time you encounter him, he will wear an orange mask. Do not hesitate to kill him…" His narrowed eyes also held warning, for a brief moment. Some piece of advice, Naruto. While it is very important to make friends and have comrades, you should know that your enemies will hurt them to hurt you. It might want to make you make less friends, but… Friends are what give you true power. Through them you gain something that no training will ever give you."_

_He got a frown for that._

_"Faith, Naruto. With your friends' faith, you'll find yourself with power you never knew you had." He then narrowed his eyes. "I will call out a few names, and I want you to make them your allies… Remember these names well, Naruto!"_

--

_The Chakra Amount being channelled through those fingers was ridiculous. This was going through Fukasaku's head as he was watching Naruto show his past version a Demonic Technique. 'This will definitely upset Ma…'_

_"Youkon, Tateru no Youma!!"_

_Where before stood a big mountain, now was a pile of massive rocks. Little Naruto fell on his butt as he saw the effect of Namikaze-sensei's Technique 'The Demonic Tail Whip.'_

_"Understand, Naruto, there are two Styles; The Ninpou and the Kenpou Style. Almost every Shinobi out there uses the Ninpou Style, Naruto. There are dozens upon dozens of Techniques under the Kenpou Style. And believe me; you're going to master all of them. Youkon, however, is a technique only Jinchuuriki can master." He grinned at the look on Naruto's face: Complete bedazzlement. "Here, let me show you the next."_

_"Youkon, Motsure no Youma!!"_

--

**BACK TO PRESENT**

'Youkon Techniques and Maton Techniques are so impossible!!' Naruto gritted his teeth as he was walking behind Sakura and Tazuna; he was the rear. 'And Namikaze-sensei told me not to use those pills before I would meet this person named Senju Tsunade… I'm going to ask the old man as soon as I get back just who the hell that is… Then I can continue Namikaze-sensei's training' He inwardly grumbled. 'Well, at least I've been given Eigou Kaiki, but sensei told me about three others, but I forgot their names...'

He shrugged.

"Are we there yet?" He voiced out of the blue.

An exclamation mark popped out of nowhere besides Naruto's head as his pink-haired teammate decided to turn to him rapidly and scream out "Shut up, Naruto! Just keep quiet like you've been the entire time!!"

The blonde moped momentarily, until his senses screamed to him that something was wrong around him. 'What?!'

Before his eyes, his Jounin Instructor got ripped to shreds. 'H-hey!! W-wait a minute, he used Kawarimi?!' He frowned to himself. 'How come I could see that? I'm so stupid, that guy was really slow, actually!! Hmph, besides, Namikaze-sensei would have surely told me if Kakashi-sensei would be killed or not… right?'

"Naruto!! Pay attention!!" Sakura screeched, bringing him back to reality

"Ah shit!" Naruto cursed as he jumped backwards in a speed his assailant couldn't keep up with, so the attack missed by quite a lot.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had pinned a chain wielded by the attackers to a tree with a Kunai and was actually grinning as he stood in front of Sakura and Tazuna. 'Finally something interesting.'

The young Jinchuuriki observed the two enemies and saw that they attacked with chains and claws… tipped with poison. Both of the enemies were running for Sakura-chan, by the way.

Oh, and Tazuna and the bastard, he added as a sidenote.

"Oh no, you won't!!" The blonde yelled as he rushed forward in a speed he hadn't used before. Therefore, he crashed into Kakashi, who was just about to headlock both the Demon Brothers.

Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna looked shocked to see all four of them sprawled on the floor. Being the first to recover from the sudden occurrence, Kakashi held a Kunai to both enemies and sighed. "It's over."

Naruto picked himself up and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, sensei…"

--

An hour later, team 7 gained a better look on the mission thanks to the explanation given to them by Tazuna, the Bridge-builder.

Apparently, a rich guy named Gatou was going to kill him.

That's all Naruto understood from the entire story. "Ne, ne, sensei!! Can you teach me any Fuuton Techniques?!" He yelled loudly.

'Fuuton?' The Sharingan wielder thought to himself. 'Why would he want to learn Wind Techniques? Also…' His thoughts wandered back to how fast he was back in the situation with the Demon Brothers. 'He's definitely not what he appears to be. Is this the Kyuubi's doing, perhaps? Is his body adjusting to it, somewhat?'

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I don't know any Fuuton Jutsu." The Copy-nin replied as if he wasn't in thought at all. "But I'll be teaching all three of you something far more interesting!" He let out cheerfully. Weird cheerfully.

And then his demeanour changed. "Everybody, duck!!"

--

_"I'm sorry, Naruto… For you to witness this…"_

_"Namikaze-sensei!!"_

_"I thought my limit was four, but… Apparently, it was three…"_

--

"Such a surprise…" A cold voice let out indifferently. "Hatake Kakashi, Copy-Cat Ninja who wields about a thousand Techniques. I think that might be a bit exaggerated, but I'll test the rumour."

Kakashi first checked if his students and client were all alright, before he looked up into the face of one "Ah, Momochi Zabuza. What a pleasure."

Something clicked in Naruto's head all of a sudden…

_'Remember these names well, Naruto!!' _Naruto remembered his future self telling him...

"Let's see… The liver, the stomach, the he-"

"Zabuza!!"

"Who dares to interrupt me?!" Zabuza boomed as he looked down to one of Kakashi's students. "You brat, you will be the first to fall!!" The Demon of the Mist readied himself and Kakashi prepared to intercept when-

"Where is Haku?!"

Zabuza nearly fell off of his own sword, which was stuck in the three he had swung it in. 'I-impossible! This kid, he knows Haku?! A Konoha Genin knows HAKU?!'

"Naruto, be quiet! Leave this one to me. He's far too much for you to handle right now. This will require…" His students watched as the Copy-Cat revealed his Copier.

"Ah, the famous Sharingan… I get to see it, already?" Came the cold voice again…

--

_"Momochi Zabuza and Haku.__ These two are travelling together and if I'm not mistaken, they can be your first two allies outside of Konoha. But remember, do not reveal that you know too much!!"_

--

Naruto's eyes widened. 'S-shit! I shouldn't have yelled out to him!!'

"Stay there!" Kakashi ordered as he attacked Zabuza, who in turn, countered.

'Time to stop pretending, right… Namikaze-sensei?' Naruto sighed and closed his eyes, while performing a handseal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

"What are you doing, dobe?" His teammate asked, glaring at the sudden appearance of four Shadow Clones, who were surrounding Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna. His eyes widened as the four Kage Bunshin started performing handseals. 'What is he up to?'

"Kenpou: Fuuinjutsu: Shishi Enjin!!" All four the clones yelled out.

To Sakura's, Sasuke's and Tazuna's amazement a purple barrier materialized around them. "Don't touch it, guys!!" The real Naruto warned, as he started heading for Kakashi and Zabuza. "That thing will burn you to death!"

Meanwhile, the four Shadow Clones were holding up the barrier.

Suddenly, Kakashi appeared beside the real Naruto, staring sternly at him, while also keeping Zabuza in his vision. "Listen to what he says, Sakura, Sasuke, Tazuna! This Barrier is very dangerous!" He then turned to Naruto. "You will explain to me how you know this Technique after this."

"I will back you up, Kakashi-sensei!" The blonde declared, ignoring Kakashi's request.

The famous Copy Ninja shook his head. "No! It's too dangerous. Zabuza will kill you easily; he's Jounin level. Leave this to me, Naruto."

The young Uzumaki sighed as Kakashi went back in a Taijutsu battle with Zabuza.

'Peculiar and very… unlikely. Still, that barrier will keep them completely safe.' Kakashi thought as he dodged a swing from Zabuza's blade with ease and retaliated with a swipe from his Kunai, which was just as easily avoided. 'Naruto, the dead-last, knows Fuuinjutsu? It simply is impossible for a kid his age to know the difficulties… Still, he performed it perfectly, even I… can't do that Technique.'

After a few blows through Water Clones, Kakashi found himself at the receiving end of a vicious kick from Zabuza, which sent him flying into the water. They had been fighting near a big pool.

'Shit… This water is… This is-'

"Suiton, Suiro no Jutsu!" Kakashi got cut from his thoughts as Zabuza finished his assessment. He got himself trapped in a Water Prison. "Ah, the famous Hatake Kakashi, caught in such a mediocre Technique. How the mighty has fallen." The Demon of the Mist gloated. "Now… the only way to destroy that annoying Barrier is to kill a Genin… This will be very hard." Zabuza sarcastically let out and chuckled. "Ok, brat, time's up!"

Before Naruto could even register what was going on, he got cleaved in half from behind. The Water Clone smirked shortly, though, as the boy he had hit turned out to be a Shadow Clone. 'Kage Bunshin again? Such an annoying brat.'

"Interesting, Kakashi! You seem to have at least one good student in your team." The real Zabuza commented. "Let's see how he holds up against ten of my Water Clones…"

The real Naruto was easily located by Zabuza and soon he was surrounded by ten Water Clones. "Heh! Watch this! Kenpou: Rengoukon: Kuusui no Jutsu!"

'W-what?!' Both Kakashi and Zabuza looked completely outraged as the Water Clones all completely dissolved into nothing around Naruto. "What the hell did he do? I don't understand…" The real Zabuza muttered. "What was that Technique?"

Naruto simply chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Boy… It's as if I haven't used any Chakra at all!" He then turned serious and glared at Zabuza. "Here we go!"

"Playtime is over now!" Zabuza growled as more Water Clones emerged from out of the water. His eyes widened, though, as Naruto rushed forward and sliced through all of his Water Clones with ease. 'This kid! He's no Genin! Such speed!'

Kakashi was also convinced that Naruto was keeping secrets…

Not wanting to be an easy target, Zabuza jumped backwards and quickly performed some handseals. "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!!" With that, Naruto found himself an easy target for the Water Dragon Blast. He got blown into a tree, but was saved from any more attacks as Kakashi had escaped from the Water Prison.

'So... it seems he has no damage at all from that attack just now... That's impossible, though..' He didn't voice his thoughts. "Nice work, Naruto." He said, before he glared at the angry Zabuza. "Let me tell you, I won't fall for the same trick twice."

--

'What's going on? What kind of Technique is this?' Sasuke thought as he watched the purple barrier around him. 'What can you do, Naruto? That dead-last knows some… interesting techniques.'

"Even though this thing is protecting me, I don't feel super-safe." Tazuna muttered as he found the purple barrier a bit creepy. "This thing… was created by that little kid?"

Sakura nodded her head. 'I've never read about something like this… How come Naruto knows this? Could this be a Kekkai Genkai of his?'

Sasuke had been watching the four Shadow Clones in every corner intently. 'It seems those four Clones can't move. If they do, this Barrier will probably dissolve. If that's true…' He had a Kunai in his grasp and threw it at one of the Clones. 'Let's see…'

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled, as the Clone disappeared as soon as the Kunai hit it. And with it, so did the Barrier.

"Ah, I thought so…" Sasuke grinned. "Sorry, dead-last, but… I don't need protection."

He swallowed nervously and watched the world no longer through purple eyesight. The young raven-haired kid slowly started walking towards Naruto, while Kakashi and Zabuza were still butting heads with one another. Sakura stayed by his side. "Ah, I hope this will turn out alright…"

"Don't worry, we'll protect you, Tazuna-san!"

He gave the pink-haired girl a smile, but not one that reached his eyes.

"What the hell did you do, bastard?! That barrier was there to protect Tazuna!!" Not far from Tazuna and Sakura, Naruto was glaring daggers at Sasuke.

"Dobe, what was that technique?" He asked and ignored the other's question.

"Now's not the time, Sasuke! Kakashi-sensei might need our help!" Naruto huffed and folded his arms. "Geez, destroying my Shadow Clone like that!" He then narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. 'I'll have to make those Shadow Clones protect themselves inside the barrier as well… How to do that, though?'

--

After having witnessed the power of the Sharingan, for now at least the copying aspects, team Seven watched how their teacher won the battle. "It is over."

Not making any move, he was surprised to suddenly see needles slam into him, with a Hunter-nin appearing beside Zabuza less than a second later. "Konoha Shinobi." Kakashi couldn't tell whether the Hunter-nin was male or female, not by voice or by appearance, as the Hunter-nin had a mask. "I thank you. I've been on the hunt for this criminal for a long time."

"Kenpou: Bouseikon; Oitsumeru no Jutsu!!" Naruto performed another Technique as he had appeared beside the Hunter-nin and Zabuza and had his hand on Zabuza's shoulder. The blonde then turned to the Hunter-nin. "Did you kill him?"

He watched the masked Shinobi nod his or her head and then sighed. "Damn it, I guess that Jutsu won't work anyway, then."

'What did he do? I did sense Chakra from that technique, but I see no effects…' Haku, the boy behind the mask, surmised. "Well, then. I bid you farewell."

Kakashi hopped down from the tree branch he was standing on and landed next to Naruto. "Very strange… He just left, huh?" He mumbled. "Naruto, you and I need to-"

Naruto could barely catch Kakashi as he fell down from Chakra exhaustion.

--

"Naruto!! Wake up!"

"U-rghtuh?"

"Ieuw, that's gross!! You're drooling!"

"Huh?" Opening his eyes, he saw big blurry field of pink in front of him. Blinking and squinting them finally gave way to a clear vision. "Sakura-chaaan?"

"Just get up, Naruto! Kakashi-sensei is awake and he wants to talk to all of us now. Hurry up, don't make Sasuke-kun wait any longer than this!" She all but yelled into his ear, before she turned and left him on the floor of a… unfamiliar room?

"Where am I?" Naruto asked himself as he rose from the floor and realized he had slept with his clothes on. 'Let's see… I've encountered Momochi Zabuza, the first ally Namikaze-sensei told me about… But he's an enemy. How can he become my ally? Did Namikaze-sensei screw up or something? Well, he's dead now, anyway. Damn that Hunter-nin. After that, we had to carry Kakashi all the way here, this is… Oh right! This is Tazuna's place! He didn't have any extra beds or us, so we had to sleep on the floor! Now I remember! I'm always a mess in the morning…'

"Naruto, hurry up!!"

"Coming, coming!"

--

"Well, we have some good news and some bad news… I'll start with the good…" Kakashi started as he watched his three students before him. "We're going to be training. A lot and hard. Prepare yourselves! Bad news… I'm not completely sure, but Zabuza might still be alive."

Kakashi watched as Naruto's eyes widened. "I-is that true?!"

'I don't understand his reaction…' The grey-haired Jounin thought as he nodded.

"Let's see about that…" Naruto thought as he closed his eyes.

It was a technique thought to him by his Future Self; The Bouseikon: Oitsumeru no Jutsu. He had used it on Zabuza just before the Hunter-nin took him away. A tracking technique passed down to him by a guy called Jiraiya. He still didn't know who this Jiraiya was, but he knew that Namikaze-sensei respected him a lot.

He had implanted just a tiny bit of Chakra into one of Zabuza's Chakra Points. With that, he could track down his own Chakra and find out where he could find a person. Normally, this technique is used on allies, to easily find them when they're in danger or missing…

But it works this way, too.

"Uhmmm…" Naruto scratched the back of his head. He could sense his own Chakra, which was pretty close, actually. But even if he did, the person might still be dead… or not? "Never mind, Kakashi-sensei. I'm just fooling around…"

The remaining members of team 7 sighed. "Naruto, we need to talk about what you did back there. Sakura, Sasuke, could you both leave the two of us here for a short while?"

"Actually, I'm interested as well, Kakashi." The Avenger responded. "All of a sudden, this dead-last shows techniques I've never seen before."

Sakura quickly nodded her agreement. "Yeah! I've never even come across things like that in any book I've read! I'm fairly sure I've already read all of the books in the Library. So is it a Bloodline Limit?"

"Sasuke, Sakura. This… might be personal for Naruto himself. You two are his teammates, but I'm his sensei. I need to be able to teach him and I can't do that if I don't know anything about him. In time, he will tell you. But he will have to tell me now, without you two listening in. So please, I'll start training you in a few minutes."

Sasuke sighed and turned away. 'Tcheh… How annoying.'

Sakura simply followed after him, while shooting one last look of confusion over her shoulder at Naruto… Who seemed awfully nervous as Kakashi stared him down.

--

"Now, mind telling me how you know Fuuinjutsu? Or those other techniques you used. I have the Sharingan and I managed to copy one of your techniques somewhat… This Bouseikon: Oitsumeru no Jutsu. I've never heard of an element called Bouseikon, before."

'Alright, this is what Namikaze-sensei warned me about. Someone asking me questions about how I know what I know… Now, what did he say I had to say again?' Naruto thought to himself. "Well, I came across a book called Kenpou, Kakashi-sensei…"

An eye dangerously narrowed. 'He's lying, there is no such book.'

"And I started reading it. It turns out the book came from the Whirlpool Country. Well, there were these techniques in there that were really awesome! All kinds of techniques that helped you protect your friends! I just had to learn them all! That way, I'd become a better Hokage than any ever before! … Right, Kakashi-sensei?"

'Whirlpool… Country? A coincidence?' Kakashi tried to see past Naruto's nervous smile, but saw no ill intent at all. 'Naruto's a good guy, definitely. But…' He then smiled behind his mask. "When we return to Konoha, would you mind showing me this book?"

'Thank you, Namikaze-sensei…' Naruto fake-pouted. "Well… One day after I got back from school I saw my entire room empty… Someone stole things from my home! While I was in school!"

'Of course… He's the Kyuubi Container and people out there really hate him… I feel sorry for him.' Kakashi nodded his head. 'Hmm…'

'A good lie is an emotional one…'

--

(New) Techniques in this Fic:

**Style: Kenpou**

Ken means Matter, or Void wink

**Element: Rengoukon**  
Rengou means Union

_Kenpou: Rengoukon: Kuusui no Jutsu: Union Technique: Water Absorption_

_Kenpou: Rengoukon: Kuuon no Jutsu: Union Technique: Sound Absorption_

Element:

**Tansaikon**: Assimilating

**Bouseikon**: Tracking

**Butsukon**: Placement

Tansaibouseibutsu means Monad…

_Kenpou: Tansaikon; Zakkin no Jutsu: Feeding Touch_

_Kenpou: Bouseikon; Teisatsu no Jutsu: Spy Touch_

_Kenpou: Bouseikon; Oitsumeru no Jutsu: Tracking Touch_

_Kenpou: Butsukon; Tenkou no Jutsu: Switching Touch_

**Element: Maton** (Time/Space Technique)

_Kenpou: Maton; Hiraishin no Jutsu: Flying Thunder God_

--

**Style: Ninpou**

Ninja Arts

**Element: Fuuton (Wind Technique)**

_Ninpou: Fuuton; Rasenshuriken no Jutsu: Spiralling Shuriken_

**Element: Suiton (Water Technique)**

_Ninpou: Suiton; Suiro no Jutsu: Water Prison_

_Ninpou: Suiton; Suiryuudan no Jutsu: Water Dragon Blast_

**Element: Fuuinjutsu**

_Ninpou: Fuuinjutsu; Shishi Enjin: Four Violet Flames Battle Encampment_

_Ninpou: Kinjutsu; Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: Shadow Clone_

--

**_(New) Weapons:_**

**Eigou Kaiki**: The Sword of Eternal Recurrence

Element: Maton (Kenpou)

Owned by: Uzumaki Naruto

**Gou Batsu**: The Sword of Eternal Punishment

Element: Maton (Kenpou)

Owned by: Baki

**Eimin Totsuka**: The Sword of Eternal Sleep

Element: Maton (Kenpou)

Owned by: Uchiha Itachi

**Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi**: Kusanagi no Tsurugi:

Element: Maton (Kenpou)

Owned by: Orochimaru

--

Note: Damn, did you know Susano'o was married to Kushinada-hime? Kushinada as in… Kushina… as in the mother of Uzumaki Naruto? Did you also know this Kusanagi no Tsurugi is actually a Sword with the power of the Wind? Like Naruto's Chakra Affinity?

Oh yeah, there are few new techniques in that list that haven't been explained yet, but I intend to do so by flashbacks and actually happenings in the story. These names just might give you an idea about what the Elements under the Kenpou Style are like. Well, hope you enjoyed!!

Oh yeah, Naruto has a weapon given to him in the future… Guess what happens when he searches for the same weapon in his own time?? (This is a side-mission given to him by his Future Self; who had a theory about it)

Next Chapter will be more focused on team 7 and their three days of rest and training, before Zabuza and Haku come barging right back into town!


	3. An Eternal Assignment?

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: Oh, Author's Note… what to put down here, hmmmm? Oh, I know!! This wasn't pre-read since I don't have any proofreaders at the moment! Mostly, my own fault, since I usually just want to load my new Chapters up immediately. I wrote this chap in one go tonight, so I hope there aren't too many mistakes in it. Well, I just hope you're gonna like it!

---

He was told that anything that happened around him and everything that he would hear surrounding him would all make perfect sense if he would take the time to comprehend it. Throwing some wood down to keep the fire burning in the midst of their gathering, Naruto sat down as well.

"I'm surprised. Tree-walking went a lot quicker that I expected. I figured it would take more than a day, but you've proven me wrong." The lazy copycat told his team. "Not only that, the three of you even mastered water-walking today. I wonder what I can get you to do tomorrow."

"A new Jutsu sounds good to me, sensei!" Naruto let out enthusiastically. 'My affinities at the moment are Fuuton and Doton… Does Kakashi-sensei even know any of those?'

"Hm, well, I'll think about it. I'm heading out to sleep; I'll leave guard duty up to you three." Kakashi waved once and disappeared by usage of Shunshin.

Naruto stared at his two teammates and didn't know what to actually think of them. Sure, he really liked Sakura, but… All this stuff Namikaze-sensei told him about the future was really keeping him busy. They were really important, after all. He never did like Sasuke all that much, but since he was already a pain in the ass now and was only to be adding to it in the future, he might as well pay some attention to the Uchiha.

"Naruto?"

His eyes lifted up from the fire he was watching to gaze at Sakura. "What is it, Sakura-chan?"

"You… You talked with Kakashi-sensei, right? Well, Sasuke-kun and I actually want to know what about." The pinkhead informed. 'Yeah! Might as well start with how the hell a dobe could learn tree-walking and water-walking faster than us!!' Inner Sakura raged.

"It wasn't important. We just… talked about Konoha."

Someone glared at him, he felt. The blonde turned his head slightly to receive the burning gaze of one Uchiha Sasuke. "You're lying, dobe. You used a strange technique back there and somehow you made ten Water Clones disappear in one second. I want to know how you did that!" He spat out as he stood from the ground to tower above Naruto. "Well?"

"Do you have a Bloodline Limit, Naruto?" His female teammate voiced in between. "I've never seen that barrier-type Technique before…"

The son of the Yondaime sighed and scratched the top of his head, hoping he could somehow explain this without revealing too much. "Well… I know Fuuinjutsu a bit, I guess. The Method of Sealing. It's something my… my family specialized in."

"Your family? I thought you were-"

"Right." Sakura got cut off by Naruto. "I don't have any family anymore. Just like Sasuke." A snort came from the avenger, but Naruto simply continued. "But they left me a few scrolls. One of them taught me about Fuuinjutsu."

"What about the others?" Sasuke asked. "What was in them?"

"They were empty." Naruto lied. He was lying about scrolls being there in first place, anyway.

"So… what else do you know?" The Uchiha continued.

Naruto looked Sasuke in the eye and smiled. "Not that much. Not much at all…"

---

**Aerial Perspective**

Chapter 2: An Eternal Assignment?

---

Sakura was hanging upside down a tree branch, observing her two teammates underneath her. She had completely mastered this tree-walking thing and it actually took her almost no Chakra.

'Sasuke-kun.' She thought as she stared at the Uchiha spewing Fireballs out of his mouth at a random boulder. 'He's so strong. And he just keeps on getting stronger.'

Her gaze slightly moved away to see Naruto, simply sitting down on the ground and… 'Is that idiot mediating? That's so impossible! A loud guy like Naruto, meditating!! But still…' The young Haruno frowned as she had to admit that Naruto was a lot stronger than she thought.

He went all alone against that huge sword wielding guy and didn't get hurt at all. He even helped Kakashi escape, actually! 'Naruto… I never thought he would be hiding things.'

Kakashi was instructing Sasuke on how to more effectively use his Fire Techniques, while he told Sakura to keep on tree-walking until she ran out of Chakra. The point of this was to increase her Chakra Amount.

Meanwhile, Naruto was communicating with the Kyuubi inside his mind.

"**Foolish human… Your future self has shown us our future and I was not in it. Not only have I been confronted with such impossible a fact, you've allowed him to speed up the process by working on the seals. I hold nothing on my own any longer, and now you've come here to gloat? You should feel very lucky I am restricted in movement. My breath alone would've been enough to dispose of you while you're in front of this cage."**

The blonde little human sighed deeply, before he focused his serious gaze upon the Fox Demon. "You can use the Nijuushin, Kyuubi."

"**Pathetic little bug, you obviously do not understand the limits of that technique, nor the requirements or the certain disappointment after its usage."**

"Perhaps… we could do the Futagogakure no Jutsu? Or perhaps even better, the Fushi Tensei?" Naruto grinned.

"**What are you here for? Your presence annoys me greatly, Uzumaki Naruto. You act as if you want to release me!"**

"It is a task given to me by myself in the future. I have to kill you, not absorb you. I can't kill you in myself, because I would be killing me, too!"

Dark, mocking laughter echoes all around him. "**For the first time, you're actually amusing me. You do realize that next to being invincible, I also happen to be quite immortal. You can not kill me, weak garbage that you are. But fear not, no one can kill me, after all! You've come here to speak of such nonsense in front of me?! Get out of here, already."**

"You don't understand. I have to, otherwise… my offspring…"

A shocking silence came as the Kyuubi fell into realization. "**Ahhh… I see. This puts me in a better position than before**." Naruto glared at the Kyuubi, as the great Fox Lord stared down at him with a grin on its face. "**Tell me, Uzumaki Naruto, what ARE your future self's plans?"**

"He told me to release you and then kill you. With that, his children, no, my… arghh! OUR children, would live on. My Chakra can deal with demonic Chakra, but apparently I am the only one in all of existence who can."

"**Not apparently, human.** **Your Chakra had to adapt to mine as soon as I got sealed in you. The reason? A Shinigami never breaks an agreement."** The Kyuubi let out with anger. "**Was your Chakra not adapted the way it was now, the Shinigami would have not been able to seal myself inside of you when the Yondaime Hokage made the proposition. You would have died as soon as the sealing had started, was it not for the Shinigami altering your Chakra. This way, the Shinigami held his end of the deal perfectly and made himself deserve a fine soul; your father's." **The Kyuubi paused to let that piece of information sink into the tiny blonde's head. "**So, now that your ignorance has slightly decreased, continue telling me of your plans."**

"So, the other Jinchuuriki?"

"**I know not. I find myself uncaring in how other Bijuu have been sealed. But my guess is; they haven't been sealed by usage of the Shiki Fuin. So their Chakra isn't as special as yours. Now, continue**!" The Fox ordered. "**I am very interested in how you can make me use the Fushi Tensei. So, do not mention your plans with the Futagogakure, as that will never happen!"**

"Fine…" The young Uzumaki grumbled out. "Since you can't take control of me, as that would mean… certain death, well, he told me that other people could come to this place."

"**Other humans?** **Here?"** The Kyuubi mused out loud. "**Perhaps he means the Uchiha, with their accursed eyes, it is possible they can pierce your mind and get to me." **He then chuckled, making the grounds shake in fear. "**How ingenious.** **I did not expect you, or your future self to think of something so… abysmal."**

Naruto closed his eyes and nodded his head. "Yes, he wanted me to lure an Uchiha in here, so you can use the Fushi Tensei on him."

"**Not only that…"** The Kyuubi added. "**He thought further ahead with this, and unfortunately, I will not fall for this."**

Naruto glared.

"**You think I am ignorant, Uzumaki? No other body can handle my Demonic Chakra but yours. Should I fall for this and actually attempt to take over another body, it will mean my and the Uchiha's immediate death. So-"** The Kyuubi got cut off and he was not happy about it.

"Exactly. There's only one option and we both know it, Kyuubi. It's the Futagogakure."

"**Hmph, that will never happen. Be gone, infuriating insect. You've taken too much of my time**." The Nine-tailed Bijuu let out with much annoyance in his voice. "**I would rather let myself get eviscerated by your Fuuinjutsu like is planned and take your offspring with me, then do this disgusting Technique."**

Returning to land of the living, Naruto found himself under the curious gazes of his Team.

"When you meditate, you sure go far away, hm, Naruto?" Kakashi smiled with a frown.

---

"I told you, I don't know any Katon Techniques! Those are simply impossible for me to do, alright?! What do you want?!" Naruto yelled. 'Jeez, I never knew this bastard could be this annoying!'

Sasuke glared, his fists clenched tightly. "Naruto. I know you know more that what you've shown us. You are the dead-last, yet… you've learned tree-walking faster than me! That is very, very unlikely. Tell me what you know."

"Look. What I know won't do you any good. The same goes the other way around! Besides, what is your Chakra Affinity, anyway?!" The blonde screeched, having about enough of Sasuke constantly forcing him to show techniques and whatnot.

Sakura was already watching them, but Kakashi actually turned his head up from his Come Come Paradise Book and stared at the two as well. 'Oh? Naruto knows of Chakra Affinities? Now I'm very sure he hasn't told me everything he knows. But then again… Of course he didn't.' He walked up to Sakura and put a hand on her shoulder. "Sakura, follow me. Naruto has just given us something interesting to talk about."

Sasuke's burning, but confused gaze moved from Naruto to the approaching other half of team 7. 'Hmph, perhaps Kakashi will tell us something I don't know for a change.'

"Talking about Affinities, Naruto? I'd think that's a bit too advanced for a Genin to know of, but… perhaps I should just explain. Do you know your affinity, Naruto?" Kakashi questioned. After the blonde's nod, the Copy-nin continued, by giving all three of his students a piece of paper. "Affinities, it's actually about which Element you control at the moment. It can be Fire, Electricity, Wind, Water and Earth. We'll find out about yours when you focus your Chakra in that piece of paper."

Sasuke's paper crumpled. "Ah, Sasuke, your Chakra Affinity is Electricity." The Uchiha frowned at the paper. He actually expected Fire.

Sakura's actually burned up, making Sasuke's head snap to hers. "Obviously, yours is Fire, Sakura." All of them turned to Naruto's, but nothing happened to his.

"Naruto, do you mind focusing Chakra in it?" The Jounin urged.

A snort came as response, not what any of them expected. "I am! Nothing is happening!"

Kakashi revealed his Sharingan and watched the piece of paper in Naruto's hands. 'Indeed, he IS channelling Chakra in it, but… What is happening?'

And then… The paper simply… ceased to exist. It just vanished! Kakashi's eyes were widened at what he saw with his Sharingan. 'That… that was very similar to… but it's impossible! Yet, it happened!' Now, Kakashi was seriously suspicious about Naruto, but taking a look at the confused look, the genuinely confused look on the blonde's face, he concluded Naruto didn't have a clue about what had just occurred.

'Maton?' Kakashi questioned. Concealing his Sharingan, Kakashi shrugged. "I guess you just burned up your paper, huh, Naruto?"

"Ah?" The female of the team uttered. "I didn't see it burn? So, Naruto has Fire too?"

The grey-haired teacher rubbed the back of his head. "No, that's not what I meant, Sakura. He poured too much Chakra in it, so he kinda… made the paper all useless." Kakashi lied. 'Seriously, you're getting ridiculous, Naruto. I'm getting to the bottom of this. As soon as I know how. Sandaime Hokage will surely know what to do.'

Watching the blonde scratch the back of his head in embarrassment, Sakura rolled her eyes. "Such a moron."

"…" Was the snort coming from the Avenger.

"Well, now that we know Sasuke has Lightning type Affinity and Sakura has Fire-type, perhaps you should both teach some Techniques from that Element?" Kakashi grinned. "Naruto, show them a Technique."

"What?!" The loudmouth yelled out. "I don't know any of those!!"

'Just checking…' The Copy-nin thought. "Fine, fine, I'll show you." He then walked away from the trio. "Tomorrow."

Sasuke and Sakura face-faulted. Naruto simply chuckled as Kakashi walked away. "He sure is lazy, huh?"

"Naruto, you nodded when Kakashi asked you what your Chakra Affinity was. So, what is it?" Sakura asked as she fixed Naruto with a threatening glare.

The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki grinned at her and at the curious expression on Sasuke's face. "I actually know a lot about Chakra Affinities, Sakura-chan! Someone told me about them! If you go on a date with me, I'll tell you!"

"Shit…" He muttered as he found himself on the ground, a red mark on his left cheek. "Fine, fine, no date, huh? Well, I ain't telling you nothing unless you and Sasuke go to Ichiraku Ramen with me once we're back in Konoha!!"

"Naruto…" Sakura slowly started as she gritted her teeth. "Want me to hit you really hard now?!"

"Hey, it's not that bad is it? I mean, Sasuke'll be there, too? Right, bastard?" Naruto shot a hopeful glance at Sasuke.

"I won't." He coldly reacted. But he was still glaring at Naruto, as if the glare would give him the answers to his current questions.

This time, it was Naruto's time to snort. "Then, no deal! Go ask Kakashi! I'm going meditating!!"

Before any of them could grab Naruto, he disappeared, making both his students stare at the spot where the blonde was standing in pure shock. "H-holy hell! Naruto can do Shunshin no Jutsu?!"

If Sakura had super-good Sound Shinobi Style Hearing, she would heard Sasuke grit his teeth in anger. 'T-That dead-last! How come he knows all these things?!' He glared at Sakura. "Sakura."

"Ah… What is it, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura blushed. This could actually be the first time… No, it WAS the first time Sasuke initiated a conversation with her.

"We will go to Ichiraku Ramen with Naruto once we get back to Konoha. Kakashi won't be teaching anything at the moment, so… We're gonna look for Naruto now. He'll tell us more about this thing." His glaring eyes narrowed, actually making Sakura blush harder. "Understood?"

"Yes, Sasuke-kun! We'll find that idiot easily!!" She exclaimed and jumped at the same time. She wanted to hug Sasuke now, actually.

"Then hurry up." He said as he jumped away in high speed.

'Sasuke-kun is so cool… That was almost as fast a Shunshin no Jutsu…' Sakura stared admiringly at the location Sasuke was just standing. "I guess I go look for that idiot now."

---

"Excuse me?"

He was really confused. Were all Shinobi from Konoha so stupid as to fall asleep in the middle of nowhere? Haku stared at the blonde with a dubious look on his face. 'This kid, he actually gave Zabuza-sama some trouble, didn't he? Probably just luck.' He smiled in his mind as he saw the seemingly innocent Shinobi mediate, leaning against a tree.

The blonde didn't look like much at all. More like a brat than a talented Ninja. 'But then, looks can be very deceiving.' Haku thought as he remembered how his own opponents often felt the same way about him.

"Ah? Huh?" Naruto opened his eyes, only to rub the sleep out of them.

Haku blinked and set his basket full of plants and held out his hand to help Naruto up. "You'll catch a cold sleeping in a place like this."

Naruto took the hand with a smile. 'People in Wave sure are friendly, huh? Completely not like Konoha…' He murmured inside his head. "Hehe, thanks for waking me up, miss." He then looked at the basket. "You collecting weeds or something?"

Zabuza's apprentice smiled. "Oh, these are no weeds; they're special plants. They are actually medicines. They can save lives if used properly." The black-haired boy explained. 'He's a rookie, Genin most likely.'

Naruto nodded his head. "I know completely nothing about that." He admitted. "So, what time is it?"

"Around… five in the morning, I suppose. Why'd you ask?"

The blonde squinted his eyes, deciding this girl really was friendly… Cuter than Sakura-chan, even! "Wow, that early!! You sure are working early, lady!"

'He's loud for a Shinobi. But there's something about him… Something deeper?' Haku stared right into Naruto's eyes and realised… He couldn't read this kid at all! 'Interesting… Perhaps he's dangerous after all.'

"As are you. What are you doing here so early in the morning?" The Fake Hunter-nin inquired.

"Training! Meditating, actually!"

'Meditating, hm? A loud boy like him?' Haku chuckled. "I see. That must be difficult. Could you… be a Ninja, by any chance?"

The Jinchuuriki puffed up his chest and laughed. "Ah! You can tell, huh? Is sure as hell am one! Amazing, huh?!"

"So, why are you training?"

"I need to become stronger! Strong enough to become the strongest Shinobi in my Village! So everyone will acknowledge my strength!!" The blonde started shouting, much to Haku's surprise.

'What a very… strange Shinobi this is.' He thought. "Are you getting stronger for you… or for someone else?"

Naruto's eyes suddenly turned serious as he stared at Haku. The black-haired boy felt like he was right now standing in front of someone else completely. "I… I have to get strong. Strong enough so I can protect everyone!!"

At this, Haku's eyes widened. "To protect… everyone?" Haku narrowed his eyes at the anguish in Naruto's eyes. 'Ah, the first emotion shows itself finally. His anguish could very well… eclipse mine completely. This boy is no ordinary kid after all. Amazing…'

"Yes, I have to protect everyone! Because no one else will be able to… I… I can not fail this!!!"

'Such determination.' Haku closed his eyes and held his hand out to Naruto. "You will become strong." Naruto shook his hand without hesitation. 'And so, I have met yet another person who's shown me hope like this.'

"Let us meet again somewhere." Haku started walking away, but stopped as he felt two Chakra Signatures appearing beside the blonde kid. He turned and saw his two teammates. 'How silly that I didn't sense it before. That boy has an incredible amount of Chakra around him. What was he doing before I found him?'

"Hey, lady! These are my teammates!"

"Ah… Nice to meet you." Haku bowed. "Also… I am a boy."

Naruto face-faulted, Sakura didn't believe it at all and Sasuke almost fell down as well form the shock. This guy here, after all, really did look like a girl!

'WHAT!?? But you're cuter than Sakura-chan!!' Naruto screamed inwardly.

"Dobe, we've agreed on your deal, teach us about Chakra Affinities now." Sasuke chose to ignore his own confusion regarding the female-like boy.

With his back turned to them, Haku narrowed his eyes. 'Chakra Affinities? So, the little kid actually is more than he appears to be.' He then smiled. 'But he is… a truly good person.'

"W-wait!! My name's Uzumaki Naruto, lady!!"

Haku turned and smiled. "My name is Haku, nice to-" Haku's eyes widened immediately as he saw how Naruto's body language suddenly changed dramatically. 'O-of course! He yelled out my name when his team fought Zabuza-sama! He already knew of me!' Was what he thought when he saw Naruto's eyes widen as well. 'S-shit!' With that, Haku disappeared immediately.

'Haku…' The blonde's eyes were still widened.

"So, he was a Shinobi." Sasuke frowned. "Nice going, dead-last."

---

The next day…

"Alright, team. Here's what we'll do. Should we encounter Zabuza and his little Hunter-nin again, we'll let Naruto perform his Barrier Technique. Sasuke…" Kakashi semi-glared at the Uchiha. "I expect you won't attack your teammate again, this time."

"It was a Shadow Clone, Kakashi, what does it matter? Besides, I won't be inside that barrier this time." The black-haired boy responded.

"Sasuke, you still attacked Naruto. Not only that, but in doing so, you brought our client back in danger. So-" To Kakashi's chagrin, Sasuke cut him off.

"I understand, Kakashi." The young Uchiha muttered. He didn't take well to getting reprimanded at all. 'What's the matter in destroying a Shadow Clone or two anyway?'

"It doesn't matter, Kakashi-sensei!" The blonde interjected. "I've learned how to create an extra barrier around my clones from the inside now as well! So, this time, there will be no breaking the barrier unless I cancel out the technique!" He proudly claimed.

'Actually, getting trapped with Tazuna in that barrier isn't such a bad idea if we come across that sick Shinobi again…' Sakura deadpanned.

'So, he learned a way to guard his own Clones during the Shishi Enjin? In this short amount of time? How very unlikely.' The CopyCat found. "Anyway, let's get back to training. I'll be fine by tomorrow, so starting tomorrow; we'll all be helping Tazuna-san on the bridge."

Naruto snorted. "I'll just use Kage Bunshin and finish that bridge on my own!!"

He got smacked from behind by Sakura. "Naruto! You'll just destroy the bridge, knowing you!"

Naruto rubbed the bump on his head and pouted at Sakura. His mind was elsewhere, though. 'Next time, I'll be facing Zabuza and Haku… This time, I might have to go all out to prevent anyone from dying…'

---

'When we get back to Konoha, I'm going out on a date with Sasuke-kun!!' Sakura happily thought as she lay in bed. 'I'll just tell Naruto to buzz off so we can have some alone time!'

Sakura stared at the ceiling and frowned at what had happened the last few days.

Her blonde dead-last teammate was actually teaching them about Chakra Affinities. So weird, hearing him talk about complex stuff like that. Her eyes suddenly widened. 'Hey, wait a minute! Naruto never told me what his Chakra Affinity was! That bastard!!'

Her eyes suddenly moved to the door of her temporary bedroom in Tsunami's house. Tsunami was Tazuna's daughter. She had heard a sound in the hallway and guessed it could either be Sasuke or Naruto, since those two were still out training.

She moved to the door and looked through the small opening she created by opening the door slightly. 'Ah! It's both Sasuke-kun and Naruto! They look horrible! So exhausted! Sasuke-kun looks cool when he's exhausted!!'

She watched as they stopped and stared downwards. Was there something on the ground? "Why do you try so hard?!" The voice came unexpected and she recognised the voice to be Inari's; Tsunami's son. "No matter how hard you try, you're still no match for Gatou's men!! No matter what you do, the strong will always win!!"

"… Whatever, kid."

Sakura's gaze moved from the ground, since Inari's was standing right in front of her door, to Naruto's… gaze? What was that? He looked so much different all of a sudden? Was this how Naruto looked like when he was serious? Looking at Sasuke, she noticed he was also looking at Naruto, but with a frown etched upon his face.

"I'm not like you."

The response was faster than immediate, coming from Inari. "I'd hate to be like you! You don't know anything about this country, yet you're being so nosy!!" Sakura then heard it. The little boy was crying. Again looking at Sasuke and Naruto, she noticed that Sasuke was trying to ignore the entire situation, but… Naruto was actually helping Sasuke to be able to stand.

'Wow, Sasuke-kun's really exhausted!!'

She then looked at Naruto, whose gaze was actually… No, he was actually GLARING at Inari, she saw.

"What the hell do you know about me?!" Inari continued to scream. "I'm different from you! You're always smiling, having fun!! You don't know how hard life can be!!"

'That isn't…' Sakura wanted to disagree, but stopped herself. Since when did she defend the dead-last? And then she saw the look on Naruto's face. 'But it's true… Naruto and Sasuke, they both know exactly how harsh life can be, don't they?'

"So… It's ok for you to pose as the star of a tragedy and cry all day?" Sakura's eyes widened at how harsh Naruto's voice was. So… unforgiving. "Just keep on crying forever, idiot!"

Sakura watched as Sasuke snapped his head to Naruto, clearly not believing how Naruto was talking to this little kid. 'Naruto…'

"You little sissy!!"

Sakura opened her door. "That's enough, Naruto!" She was about ready to punch Naruto out for making the boy cry even more. 'Sure as hell everyone in the house woke up because of all the noise!!' Inner Sakura ranted.

He fixed Sakura with a glare, something he never gave her and it felt… colder than any glare Sasuke had ever given her. "Whatever…" He let go of Sasuke and walked away. The Uchiha quickly leaned against the wall for support.

Sakura looked at Inari, who was crying all his tears out. "Inari-kun…" She started.

"Shut up!!!" Inari screamed, running in the different direction Naruto went. Sakura huffed, but then went to help Sasuke.

"Don't. I don't need any help, Sakura." Was the response she expected and got, so it didn't really faze her. "You… You didn't understand, so… you had no right stopping this conversation here." She didn't expect him to talk after that, so she froze as she was already close to being back in her bedroom. "You don't understand me and you don't understand Naruto either. Stop pretending you do, it's… annoying."

She listened as Sasuke used the wall to get to his room. She was actually gritting her teeth and glaring at her feet as she closed the door. 'He's right, I don't understand them at all…'

'But, you forget!! They don't understand us either!!' Inner Sakura raged from within.

Sakura nodded her head, determination dancing on her features. 'You're right… It's time we all got to know each other. It seems I won't be asking Naruto to buzz off when we're back in Konoha, after all.'

---

TBC

Oohhhhh! Some tension? Or none at all?

I started this fic with the intention to see Team Seven in better synchronization and also, to see a young Naruto with Senjutsu and Maton at his disposal.

I haven't really decided on a pairing for this fic yet, but it definitely won't be Yaoi. Maybe Sakura or Ino… Perhaps Tayuya or Temari. I actually want Tayuya, since she looks a lot like Naruto's mother. I just hope Tayuya doesn't turn out to be related to Naruto in the Canon. I mean, it turns out Naruto's mom was loudmouthed and foulmouthed… or something? Kinda sounds a lot like Tayuya… But, I haven't decided whether this will have romance in it at all…

Oh damn, by the way! It's actually pretty hard to write Haku as a male, i.e. HE said, HIS basket. I accidentally wrote SHE said and HER basket. With all the other sentences, too. It was kinda vexing, actually! Stupid me!

I'm itching to write about Naruto's new Techniques… I've made a huge list of techniques you can find on my site. Or possible tomorrow, heh… -scratches nose- But it's not really up to date with the whole Ninpou-Kenpou System of this Story, yet. So…

Well, thanks for reading!!!

Cheerio,

..


	4. Bad Timing

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: meh

---

"_Naruto, these clothes are special. They've been designed by me. Well, by you too… eventually." The older Jinchuuriki scratched the back of his head in slight confusion, while the younger blonde chuckled. "Each piece of this clothing has a seal implemented on them. I will explain to you now how to use them."_

_Naruto nodded._

"_First off, your headband. The Godaime Hokage held a technique in her arsenal that stores Chakra and taught me the basics of it. I've created a Hitai-Ate that can store Chakra. You basically pour Chakra into the headband and it'll remain there. It has to touch your forehead, though. You yourself will be drained of it, of course. But you and me both know we have a whole lot of Chakra. I'd advice you to store Chakra in the Hitai-Ate and take a day's rest after that. If you want to drain Chakra from the headband, just think of… pulling Chakra out of it. It'll come automatically."_

_Naruto wanted to talk, but his older version held up a hand._

"_Wait until I've explained everything and keep paying attention, Naruto. Next up…Your vest and shirt combined complete the Chakra Cloak. It completely conceals all of your Chakra. Even it's warm, do not take off the vest, understand? These two lose their function when they're apart. Now, your… trunks." Naruto's short pants ended over both his knees. "The pants themselves don't hold any seals, but your pockets do. And they respond to your fingers. Pour Chakra into your thumb, pink, middle finger, ring finger or index finger. All summon different weapons. Important is that the fingers of your left hand summon different things than the fingers on your right hand. Try it out. Pouring Chakra in the palm of your right hand will result in summoning Eigou Kaiki. The palm of your left hand summons nothing… until you will assign something to it."_

_Naruto frowned as the older one chuckled strangely. _

"_I want you to locate the Eigou Kaiki in your own time and assign it to the palm in your left hand. If my assumptions are correct, you'll find the result… very exciting. Moving on… The Black Sandals hold no seals and I figured it completed the… black look we both have. The black gloves however, hold summon seals, just like the pockets in your black pants. These however, summon explosive tags when you pour Chakra in them. Combining them with wind-natured Chakra should do something pretty cool."_

_Naruto watched as the Uzukage gave permission to speak. "What about all the pockets in my vest?"_

"_Ah, yes. They hold no seals, just scrolls. These scrolls are all empty. I will be teaching you how to seal Techniques, weapons, clothes, food, drinks and many other stuff in scrolls soon…" Namikaze Naruto watched as his younger version was holding a small metal symbol._

"_You like the Uzumaki Crest?"_

_Naruto looked up from the small metal piece in his hands that would secure the black belt around his waist. "Uzumaki?"_

_The Uzukage nodded his head. "Our mother was Uzumaki Kushina and she originated from Whirlpool Country. The name Namikaze is already great and will never be forgotten in this world. I want to make the name Uzumaki big as well. Even though we've never met our mother… I know I love her and… well, respect her. We'll make the Uzumaki name big, right?"_

"_Uzumaki Kushina… is the name of my mother?" Naruto repeated. "But then… why do you go by the name Namikaze?"_

_Namikaze Naruto was wondering what to explain first… Why he called himself Namikaze or what secrets the Uzumaki Symbol and the black belt held on his person?_

---

**Aerial Perspective**

Chapter 3: Bad Timing

---

The sounds of birds chirping woke him up from his slumber. He shook his head and noticed the absence of a pillow underneath his head. In fact, his head and neck were hurting. Taking a few seconds to just breathe and do nothing at all but wake up, he took a look at his surroundings and noted he was outside. He could barely see the sky, as it was mostly obscured by trees.

"Ughh…" The blonde groaned and set himself up in a seated position, rubbing his head in the process, hoping the dull headache would go away quickly. "Man... Where am I?" His eyes were still half-closed and he felt like he could sleep a whole lot more, but… Perhaps checking in with his team would be the smarter idea.

"Finally decided to wake up, huh?" He blinked. He didn't even sense someone! Who was there? Naruto jumped up and got ready to kick some ass, until he saw… "Jeez, what the hell is wrong with you? You really think I'd let you wake up first if I wanted to kill you?"

His own Shadow Clone. "Alright, alright. I forgot about you, ok?" The real Naruto groaned again. Of course he wouldn't sense his own Clone, since it obviously has the same Chakra Presence. He remembered he told the Bunshin to stand watch. Something his future self told him to always do. "Dispel yourself; it might get rid of this headache."

The Kage Bunshin chuckled. "Yeah, well… You HAVE been sleeping on a rock all night." As the Clone dispelled itself, Naruto gained some memories about the training yesterday night and grinned. The headache he had was gone faster than he could blink. 'Oh yeah! New Technique mastered! Let's try it out immediately!'

---

"W-what's going on here?!"

It didn't take a genius to figure out something was wrong; the unconscious bodies scattered on the unfinished bridge were enough of a clue. "Kakashi-sensei?" The only female on the bridge uttered, exactly at the same time mist surrounded all of them.

"Hm, it seems I was right." The Copy-nin surmised. "Momochi Zabuza is still alive. And he brought his friend along this time." His two teammates and the client, Tazuna, looked up ahead to see two shadows slowly approaching them through the mist. "The Hunter-nin, as expected."

Sasuke snarled as he finally spotted the Missing-nin and his accomplice.

"Hooo… Where's the loudmouth? He couldn't make it?" Zabuza's voice was as cold as Kakashi and the others remembered it being. "I wanted Haku to deal with that nosy brat. Oh well, your other two will do just as fine, I'm sure."

'So, his name is Haku… If I remember correctly, that's the exact name Naruto called out when we first encountered Zabuza. Did he know Haku was travelling with Zabuza? It could've been mentioned in the Bingo records, but… It's unlikely Naruto would have any Bingo Book.' Kakashi sighed. "I intend to finish things quick this time, Zabuza."

"Is that so? I take it I'll get to see that Sharingan Eye again, huh?" The Demon of the Mist chuckled. "Let's do this, then!"

His Sharingan eye widened as he saw the Hunter-nin perform one-handed seals. 'A unique Shinobi this one, hm?'

"Hijutsu, Sensatsu Suishou!!"

Sasuke easily jumped out of the way of Haku's Ice Needle Attack, while Kakashi was deflecting them with his Kunai, at the same time protecting Sakura and Tazuna. "You don't have time to protect them, Kakashi!" Kakashi spun around rapidly to see Zabuza bring his massive sword down upon Tazuna and Sakura.

The Sword never hit as another Kakashi appeared behind Zabuza and hit it with a Kunai. Zabuza evaporated and water splashed everywhere. "Mizu Bunshin." Kakashi murmured. "I suppose with his Mist around, it's easy for you to create them."

Sasuke, in the meantime, had clashed with Haku; Kunai met Ice Needle. "You're fast enough to evade my attack. I commend you." Came Haku's voice. "However, this is as far as you'll go." As Haku made one hand movement, Sasuke heard how the Ice Needles from the previous attack that were on the ground behind him, all sailed towards him again. Applying Chakra to his feet, Sasuke somersaulted away from Haku and over all the Ice Needles. "Ah, quite a talented one we have, here."

"Indeed." Zabuza had materialized next to Haku again, still wearing the ever-lasting smirk. "Finish things quickly, Haku. I won't be able to do the same in handling Kakashi."

"I understand, Zabuza-san."

---

Naruto was energetic after trying out a new Fuuton Jutsu he had been working on for days! Now that it was mastered, he was feeling quite satisfied with himself as he was heading back to Tsunami's house, hoping to catch some big breakfast. As the house came into view, Naruto changed from walking pace to running pace in the blink of an eye.

He walked in, fully prepared to take some smart-ass remark from either Sasuke or Kakashi, only to narrow his eyes at the presence of… absolutely nobody.

"Where is everyone?" Naruto mumbled softly. He walked into the kitchen and then upstairs, just to realize no one was home. "Aw man, I missed breakfast and they all started training without me. Even Tsunami-san and that little brat are gone… Tcheh."

As he sat on the bed in the room he and the rest of his team had been staying in the last few days, he jumped as he heard the front door was slammed shut and he heard footsteps coming up. 'Must be Inari…' Naruto thought. 'Perhaps he can…' He had already walked towards the stairs only to see Inari crying and… to his surprise, hope, in his eyes as the kid looked at him.

"Puh-please!! They took my mother!!"

Right then, Naruto's mind clicked. "Tell me where!"

---

"Hijutsu; Makyou Hyoushou!"

When he heard those words three minutes ago, he didn't think he would be stepping into a world of pain. He knew he couldn't count on Kakashi, since he was busy with that Zabuza guy. He also realized he couldn't wait for Sakura to suddenly develop some Shinobi abilities, so all in all… he was screwed. Where the hell was Naruto, anyway?

"Your eyes… It seems my technique has helped in you gaining your Bloodline Limit… The Sharingan." Came Haku's voice from all around him. Even though he could see the masked boy in one of the many Ice Mirrors around him, that didn't mean he truly was in THAT mirror. "But I'm afraid it's already too late."

'I'm starting to see his movements.' Sasuke thought. 'I just need to see more so I can strike back!'

While he was performing this technique, Haku could only move from mirror to mirror, throwing Ice Needles from any angle. If worst came to worst, he could even throw needles from all angles at the same time. But for this boy, with a fresh Sharingan, Haku hoped he could just strike him at the necessary pressure points. He never did like killing people. But the boy was not cooperating as he was dodging most of his needles.

Not too far away from Haku and Sasuke, Kakashi was panting and holding a hand to a big wound to his chest. His Sharingan couldn't see through the thick mist Zabuza had created around all of them. 'It's been a while since I've been in such a dangerous situation. I hope Sasuke's doing fine.' He could still sense the Uchiha and his other subordinate, Sakura, behind him, guarding Tazuna. 'I guess I'll have to use Kuchiyose to finish things fast. I just hope I'll make it in time for Sasuke.'

---

'I'll promise you, I will save her! I promise, Inari!' Those were the words he yelled to the little boy a few minutes ago. Right now, he was running through the forest, intent on reaching Inari's mother in time. There were two of them, Inari said, and they were probably taking her to their boss, Gatou. To do that, they had to continue on water…

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto quickly sent his Shadow Clones in different directions, hoping he would find them quicker.

'Damn it, me and my stupid head just had to sleep someplace else! And to top it off, continue training after waking up! Stupid! Stupid!!' He and his clones were all moving in very high speed. There was no use in holding back any longer. The real deal starts now and he would save everyone! He had to…

Just then, a Shadow Clone had dispelled itself and Naruto knew where they were. But… as he saw the memories of the Shadow Clone, he realized… Tsunami was probably dead…

---

"Shit!!"

Supporting himself by holding both his hands on his knees, Sasuke was panting and looking through only one eye, as he was in great pain. Many Ice Needles had hit him all over his body, but he managed to avoid getting hit in critical places.

But he knew he couldn't hold on for much longer if it continued on like this. Sure, he could now see some of the movements his opponent was making, but it didn't matter. The difference in their skills was too great. Just a fresh Genin and his first real mission would already be his demise?

His fists clenched…

No, he was an Uchiha! He already had the Sharingan! He would continue until he could face Uchiha Itachi! This opponent was nothing compared to his brother. Forcing himself to stand upright again, Sasuke glared at Haku.

"Oh? It seems like you're still able to move." Came Haku's surprisingly gentle voice. "It would be wise to stand down and admit defeat, to avoid more suffering. Accept death as something swift."

"I won't die." Sasuke replied as both his Sharingan eyes suddenly had two tomoes. "This fight is far from over."

Easily this time, Sasuke dodged all the needles as he could see them coming at him before they were even close. "Those needles won't touch me again." He let out as he jumped from one spot to the other, using Chakra under his feet to move faster.

"You're not realizing the position you are in. In here, I can hit anything I want whenever I want." Came the counter reply and the needles came faster and grew in numbers. It didn't change the fact that Sasuke was still dodging every single one of them. 'I see… His eyes have developed so much that hitting him proves too difficult… If that's true, then…'

Sasuke's eyes widened as all of a sudden every mirror held an image of Haku.

"I told you, in here, there is no escape." Came the many voices. "There's no where to run to, for there is a needle waiting for you… everywhere!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and gathered Chakra as his Sharingan indeed saw Ice Needles coming from all around him. His Sharingan told him he would get hit, no matter what he did, so… "Aaar..gh…guh!!"

---

"It's no use bringing her in like this, Waraji…" A young man wearing a black hat mumbled, looking at the woman on the ground.

"I'm sorry, I felt like cutting something up. Besides, what difference will this woman make, anyway? She was too stubborn to be of any meaning, really." Waraji replied, scratching himself just above the eyepatch covering his right eye.

Zouri sighed as he grabbed the sword hanging by his hip. "She's still alive, so we might as well finish things here." He held his sword above the woman, ready to slice her in half, only to blink in surprise as his sword was… gone. No longer… in his grasp?

Waraji's eyes widened as his sword was also gone.

"You bastards…" They both turned their heads to see a blonde kid dropping their swords to the ground. "How dare you hurt an innocent woman?"

"Innocent?" Zouri yelled. "She's the daughter of the man who opposes Gatou! No one opposes Gatou!!"

Waraji was hesitant in calling out. 'This kid is good… He grabbed our swords without us even seeing it. Not only that, he-' his eyes widened as Zouri suddenly dropped to the ground next to him. "W-what!? Zouri!!"

Staring at the spot where the blonde kid was standing before, he realized he was still standing there… Why did Zouri fall? Dropping to his knees, he quickly checked if his companion was still alive. "You bastard! What did you do to him?!"

Naruto glared at Waraji. "Be glad he isn't dead."

He didn't realize anything at all as he was already knocked out from behind. Naruto walked towards the struggling Tsunami on the ground, many sword wounds covering her arms, legs and back. "I don't know any medic Ninjutsu, so there's only one thing I can do now… I just hope she can handle the motion." He muttered to himself as he crouched down and held one hand on Tsunami's shoulder, while his other hand was performing a seal…

"Hiraishin no Jutsu!"

---

"Sasuke?" Kakashi wondered out loud as he heard a scream and dropped to his knees as he had finished a sequence of handseals. He quickly put his hands on the ground and yelled out "Kuchiyose; Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu!"

"It seems your boy is in a lot of pain, Kakashi. He won't survive against a killer like Haku." Zabuza's voice rang throughout the clearing that was covered with mist.

"Don't underestimate my students." The Copy-nin responded, watching as his Jutsu spread out under the ground. "He is an Uchiha, the last of his Clan. He won't die so easily."

"Uchiha? He's an Uchiha? A survivor of that unfortunate Clan? No wonder he can last this long against Haku. But it doesn't matter; Haku has never lost with that Technique. You're failing as a teacher, Kakashi. It's a sha-" he got cut off as many dogs suddenly erupted from out of the ground and bit Zabuza wherever they could bite him. "S-shit!"

The Demon of the Mist glared as Kakashi appeared in front of him. "End of the line, Zabuza."

"How?"

"My blood… Thanks to the wounds you gave me and the blood on your sword… My dogs were able to catch you through this mist. I've won this battle." Kakashi slightly crouched and performed a few handseals. "Now… Let me show you my original Technique…"

---

Sasuke fell to the ground, completely unable to move any longer.

Haku cancelled his Jutsu out and slowly walked towards the fallen Avenger. "Very skilled indeed… You've managed to avoid getting hit in lethal places… again. But, seeing that there are so many needles, this fight has come to an end."

Sasuke managed to look up from the ground and glared at his opponent. He was in too much pain to talk.

"But you shouldn't feel ashamed. I used my ultimate move against you, the one that allows for no escape. I only use it on my strongest opponents. You should be proud; a Genin was able to push me to my limits. Now… Should I end your life?"

---

"Sakura-chan?"

Tazuna and Sakura both turned around in shock as they suddenly saw Naruto standing behind them. "N-Naruto?!"

"What's going on here?" Naruto asked as he saw the Mist on the bridge. 'It's a good thing I planted a seal on everyone in the team…' He thought to himself. 'But I can't sense Sasuke… Was I too late?'

"We're under attack! Zabuza and that Hunter-nin… they came out of nowhere!" Sakura uttered loudly.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Naruto muttered, creating five Shadow Clones. Four of them surrounded Sakura and Tazuna. "Wait here, I'll go help out. You stay with Tazuna, alright?" Naruto said as his Clones began doing handseals. He turned around and gave Sakura and Tazuna a confident smile. "I'll go save everyone!"

Sakura felt hope in her chest at that smile, while Tazuna was incredibly relieved. "Shishi Enjin!!" Four Clones created the Purple Barrier around them. One Shadow Clone stayed behind just in case someone tried to come too close to the barrier.

Naruto himself performed a single handseal and focused on Sasuke's position. "Hiraishin no Jutsu!"

Both Sakura and Tazuna saw how Naruto vanished into thin air, leaving only a slight yellow flash behind…

---

Just as Haku sensed a lot of Chakra being gathered in the distance, the blonde boy he had encountered in the forest appeared by Sasuke's side out of nowhere. 'Impossible! I didn't sense him coming!' Haku thought.

"Well, damn… You look like shit, Sasuke." Naruto murmured as he crouched down and patted the Uchiha on the shoulder. "Hang on a little longer." Sasuke was already unconscious, though.

"You're strong…" Haku started. "But I sense my master is in danger, I can not fight you right now."

Naruto glared at the masked boy and snorted. "You think you can just kick my teammate's ass and get away with it?"

But Haku wasn't listening anymore, already ready to use his full speed to reach Zabuza in time. Naruto blinked as he jumped away. But the blonde was faster, a lot faster.

---

"Chidori!!"

Kakashi's eyes widened as a Mirror of Ice appeared in front of Zabuza and he couldn't stop anymore. He noticed, then, that his hand was being held by something strong. Glancing sideways, he saw that Naruto had stopped his Jutsu by grabbing his wrist. Haku had appeared in front of Zabuza within an Ice Mirror and saw that her life was saved by Naruto.

Zabuza was shocked by all of this for a few short moments, until his mind clicked… Using the Chidori and the Sharingan drained Kakashi a lot and the Copy-cat couldn't hold the Doton Tsuiga no Jutsu any longer; Zabuza was free… Grabbing his sword, he brought it down onwards Haku, Kakashi and Naruto.

Kakashi was already thinking of jumping back as the Chidori had died down and Naruto had released his wrist, when Zabuza suddenly stopped…

"I don't think so…"

Haku looked up to see Zabuza's sword hovering just inches from his face. "What are you thinking, slashing your sword through your comrade like that?" Naruto asked in anger as a sword of his own was blocking Zabuza's sword.

Zabuza gritted his teeth as he tried to overpower Naruto with his sword. It was starting to work, too. In his struggle, Zabuza let out "Haku would've dodged it, he's too fast to be hit by my sword." in between grunts. "What's this sword?"

Kakashi and Haku jumped back. Kakashi stepped forward only to be stopped by Haku's arm. "Wait… The battle is already over."

Kakashi looked puzzled, until he heard laughing from behind him. The Mist had already dissipated. The Copy-nin saw how Tazuna and Sakura were surrounded by the Shishi Enjin, but he also saw a huge army led by a very short man, who was doing the laughing. 'That must be Gatou, then…'

"What's this? The Demon of the Mist struggling against a kid? How low you've fallen. I've come to take over. You're doing a shitty job, Zabuza!" Gatou grinned. "Now, kill everyone!!" The short man ordered his army.

Zabuza and Naruto stepped away from each other to look dumbly at the approaching group of… bandits. "Really, are they serious? People like them facing Shinobi like us?" Naruto muttered as he unsummoned his Sword.

Zabuza chuckled. "They are." He then walked towards Kakashi. "My mission is over, it seems. We no longer need to fight." Zabuza glanced at Haku, glad that the boy was still alive, before grabbing his sword again and grinning like a madman. "Let's cut down this army, Haku."

"Yes, Zabuza-san."

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Kakashi looked behind him to see Naruto with many of his Shadow Clones. "I'll help out!" He also noticed how the real Naruto and one Shadow Clone lifted Sasuke up from the ground.

"I guess I'll help, too." Kakashi muttered. "Kage Bunshin."

Safe to say, Gatou's army stood no chance and Gatou met his end by Zabuza's hands.

As Zabuza was enjoying himself with a few poor survivors of Gatou's pathetic army, Kakashi walked over to Naruto and the unconscious Sasuke. "Kakashi-sensei… I have to take him to Konoha."

The Copy-nin sighed and crouched down to check on Sasuke. "I know some Medic Ninjutsu, I'll be able to make sure he's fine, but… you're right, we need to return to Konoha as soon as possible." Kakashi turned his head to see the Shishi Enjin still active around Sakura and Tazuna. "Everything's fine now, you can release them. Tazuna's safe, since Gatou's dead now."

---

Sakura and Kakashi brought Sasuke back to Tsunami's house, along with Tazuna, but Naruto stayed behind to talk to Zabuza and Haku, to their surprise.

"Zabuza-san, Haku-san. I have a favor to ask."

"A favor? What makes you think you can ask us a favor, kid?" Zabuza looked bored as he stared Naruto down.

"I saved your life, both your lives." Naruto replied as he grinned at Zabuza and Haku. "Since I'm going to become Hokage of Konoha, I want you two on my side."

Haku looked surprised, while Zabuza chuckled. "Kid, you mean you want us to come to Konoha?"

The blonde shook his head. "No. I want to keep in touch." Pouring Chakra in the index finger of his right hand, Naruto suddenly pulled out a set of twenty special Kunai, all tied with a metal string. He also grabbed a scroll out of one of his pockets. "Take these Kunai… They can summon me when you throw them."

Zabuza's eyes widened. "Are you serious?" Although he asked the question, the older Shinobi could see the look in Naruto's eyes and knew he was. "What kind of Shinobi are you?"

He chose to ignore the question and continued. "This scroll holds a technique I want the both of you to learn." He threw the scroll at Zabuza while he handed the Kunai to Haku. After that, Naruto performed a few handseals. "Kenpou; Bouseikon: Teisatsu no Jutsu!"

Both his hands were glowing and then he touched both Zabuza and Haku on the shoulders. "This Technique allows me to always know where you are. It works one way, but this Technique is the one that I want you to learn, it's the one that's in the scroll I've given to you. Once the both of you have learned it, I want you to summon me by throwing one of my special Kunai. Then, you can use the Jutsu on me, too."

"… Simply throwing the Kunai will summon you?" Haku asked. "And this technique… Can we trust you?"

Naruto grinned. "I think you know you can."

Zabuza sighed. "You're a strange kid. What makes you think we won't summon you right into a trap of ours?"

"Because I trust you." This time, both Mist-nin fell silent. "Listen… I just know you're trustworthy. In the future, we might need each other's help. So until then, I want you two to survive against the Hunter-nin coming after you. If you ever are in a bind… Don't hesitate to summon me."

Zabuza opened the scroll. "Why do you want us to learn this technique?"

Naruto shrugged. "Trust works both ways. I now know your whereabouts anytime… I want you to know where I am at all times, too. When I'm Hokage… I only want trustworthy people around me."

---

"You have some explaining to do, Naruto."

Naruto froze in his movements and turned around. He was planning to sneak into Tsunami's hospital room quietly and get back to Wave without anyone noticing, but… The blonde inwardly groaned and bowed his head in greeting. "Hokage-sama."

"According to my resources, it is impossible for you to be in Konoha. But I know you really are Uzumaki Naruto. Explain yourself now."

"Hiraishin no Jutsu." Naruto sighed. He had to tell the old man everything now.

"That's impossible. I'm surprised you've even heard of the technique. I was thinking that you could be a Shadow Clone, but… That isn't it either, is it?"

"Hokage-sama." Naruto bowed again. "We have things to discuss. But first, let me bring Tsunami back to her family. You'll see for yourself…" He paused as he walked over to Tsunami and touched her shoulder with his right hand, while he performed seals with his left. "That I can do the Hiraishin no Jutsu."

Sarutobi's eyes widened as he saw the Yellow Flash…

---

TBC

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	5. Chuunin Exams

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: At the moment, I find my motivation aimed at writing more for this fic than my others... Sound Of The Wind and Melancholy's Smile will be next. I also had the next chapter of A Motion Too Far done, but I wasn't satisfied, so I think I might just do a TimeSkip for that one. After those three, this story will get another update. Also, the There Where When Is Now Series... It's strange to write for it, seeing as the Manga has completely ruined most of the set-up for those books.

---

He hadn't expected to see someone else standing in the office as he was allowed entry, especially not someone so… present. Naruto blinked as this was probably the first time he felt this much Chakra in a single person. But then he remembered how his own future self felt like, Chakra-wise.

Chakra freaks, hm? He learned how to sense how much Chakra a Shinobi possessed from his future self and knew he himself had a shitload of it. His future self had many times more, so he knew he would be expanding upon it. Now, this guy standing next to the Third Hokage… He also had a shitload of Chakra… Truly, it gave a nostalgic feeling to him… And a lot of pressure, too.

"Ah, good morning, Naruto-kun." The aging man greeted and then laid his arm out in front of the taller man. "This is Jiraiya."

Naruto's eyes widened as he remembered his future self telling him about the Toad Hermit. The perverted Toad Hermit, that is. Naruto nodded at the Sage once, sensing that he already knew who he was himself.

"I just received the Mission Report from Kakashi and you should know that he also knows about you bringing Tazuna's daughter here for treatment during the mission." The Sandaime started. "Now, he was very curious since you haven't been telling him about how you pulled that stunt. I myself haven't been telling him anything either, so expect a very agitated Instructor after this meeting."

The blonde nodded, staring intently at Jiraiya. He remembered how the older Naruto held great respect for the man.

"So… Hiraishin no Jutsu? You have to be a Seal Specialist to be able to do such a Technique. And to be a Seal Specialist… takes a lot of work and certain… intelligence. Next to that… It takes years." The Third stated carefully. "Perhaps you should start explaining yourself, young one."

"Yes. It's simple, really, Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama." Naruto started. "I've stood in front of the gates of the Kyuubi and… touched the seal imprisoning the demon."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, while the Third did not yet fully understand.

"Apparently… it all starts with my father…"

---

Aerial Perspective

Chapter Four: Chuunin Exam

---

In truth, he hadn't spoken to his father yet. His future self told him all about Namikaze Minato and how he would appear should Naruto ever lose control of himself and boost up to eight Tails of the Kyuubi. He had no intention of ever losing control, but he did have every intention to have the chance to speak to his father. Some day, he will find a way to get the Fourth of that Seal inside himself without using a single bit of Kyuubi Chakra… Some day.

Right now, he had lies to tell, convincingly.

"It seems… that when I get angry or emotional… the Chakra of the Kyuubi leaks out through the seal and onto me. When I get too angry or too emotional, the amount of Chakra coming from the Fox is dangerous. So dangerous that it hurts me. It has happened already before and when it did… The Fourth Hokage appeared in front of the gates of the Kyuubi as well…"

Sarutobi gasped and Jiraiya stepped forward, speaking up for the first time. "What did he tell you?"

Inwardly, Naruto grinned. Outwardly, Naruto sighed. "He is my father. He had little time before he… faded away. Of course, it was a lingering Bunshin of the Yondaime, put into the seal as an… addition." He looked up to see Jiraiya nod in understanding. "But before he did, he taught me some Jutsu… The Rasengan, the Hiraishin."

"This is unbelievable…" The Third muttered. "Now you know you are the son of the Fourth Hokage."

"And the son of Uzumaki Kushina." The blonde added. "I can also summon."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "What do you summon?"

"Toads and… Birds of Prey."

"You… How?" Jiraiya stuttered. Naruto unrolled his sleeve and revealed markings on his underarm. "You've… Your father created that?"

Actually, his future self did, but Naruto nodded. "Yes. A combination Fuuin of two very advanced Fuuinjutsu. He called it the Dairenritsu of the Gama and the Moko. I… haven't signed the contract yet, so I can't just summon them now without getting killed." Naruto chuckled nervously. 'At least not in this time… yet…'

'True… Summoning without having signed a contract is lethal to one's own Chakra. Next to that, whatever you summoned might kill you for summoning them without permission.' Jiraiya gulped. "Heh… I guess you're not the Fourth's son for nothing. I can help you with the Toad Contract." He started as he pointed at a large scroll hanging on his back. "But the Birds of Prey is a different story. I know nothing about them… To be honest, I'm sure your father didn't, either."

"All this is possible, Jiraiya?" He was the great Professor of the Shinobi, but Fuuinjutsu was an area Jiraiya and the Fourth bested him in by far. "The Rasengan, the Hiraishin and Kuchiyose no Jutsu?"

"It is possible for the Fourth to have created a Bunshin using Chakra and pushed it into the Shiki Fuin, yes. It is also possible for a Bunshin to teach Naruto Jutsu. All this is possible and something my former pupil is very capable of. I believe young Naruto here, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi glanced from Naruto to Jiraiya and back again a few times, before he caved in. "Very well… If Kakashi asks you about all of this, tell him it is classified and that he can get the information from me. I want no one else knowing about this and you can speak to no one about you being the Fourth's son."

"Why is that?" The blonde asked, frowning. He had wondered about it ever since he had gotten back from the future.

"The Fourth Hokage was a person known in all great Countries. He was not a much liked person outside of Konoha. His downfall was hard on Konoha, but… good news… for all other Shinobi Nations. His power and his skill made Konoha much, much more powerful in many departments in comparison to other nations. If word spreads that he has a son, ALL and I truly mean ALL Shinobi Countries will retaliate. I assume most likely correctly that they would do anything in their power to prevent that another Shinobi like the Fourth will walk the lands again."

Naruto snorted in amazement. "He really was awesome, huh?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Yeah, he really was."

"I believe you're already walking in his footsteps, Naruto." The Third spoke. "You'll be finding yourself to be quite 'awesome', as well."

"I'll surpass him… I'll surpass my father and all other Hokage." Naruto grinned.

Jiraiya and the Third grinned back. "Well… You're dismissed, Naruto."

As Naruto walked out of the office, Jiraiya and Sarutobi faced each other. "You've noticed?"

Jiraiya nodded his head. "His Shinobi outfit… It's covered in numerous advanced Fuuinjutsu… It's explainable if he somehow made it through instructions given to him by his father's Bunshin in the Shiki Fuin, but… It takes many years to create such an outfit."

The Hokage nodded his head. "Yes, I figured as much. He's not telling us everything."

A snort came from Jiraiya. "For starters, when DID he come face to face with his father? How long has he known the truth?"

---

The next day…

Team Seven just finished a D-Ranked mission, when Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were walking through the streets of Konoha, heading for the Hokage Tower.

Kakashi had been given a rather limited explanation about Naruto's weird actions on the Wave Mission, but the fact that the aging leader mentioned the Hiraishin no Jutsu was somehow… odd. Kakashi had a hard time believing it all, but it WOULD explain a few things.

But he received nothing on Naruto's weird outfit, Naruto's Fuuinjutsu or the other weird techniques Naruto held in his arsenal.

"What a boring mission…" Naruto suddenly whined. "Can't we have more exciting missions like that last one?"

'Exciting…' Sakura thought as her mind went back to the Mission in Wave. 'Sasuke got hurt so badly Kakashi-sensei had to carry him all the way back. I was completely useless on the mission, while Naruto… Naruto protected me and Tazuna… I have to get stronger too! …And what happened to Zabuza and that Hunter-nin?'

"We've had a higher-ranked mission before, right?" Sasuke suddenly spoke up, walking next to Naruto with his hands in his pockets and staring at Kakashi's back. Sakura was walking next to Kakashi, looking at how the Jounin was reading a small book. "We finished that one, so I don't see why we should still accept these D-Missions."

"Your skills are coming along, but… Your teamwork is lacking." Kakashi replied. The Jounin's head suddenly shot up towards the sky as a small bird flew over. "Why don't you two teach Sakura something new? I'll hand in the Mission Report by myself."

With that, Kakashi vanished.

"I'm going training." Sasuke let out as he started walking towards his own home.

"Wait, Sasuke-kun! Kakashi-sensei said you and I should train together!" Sakura started after him.

"Not today." Sasuke didn't even look back as he continued walking.

The blonde left alone grinned at the scene. "Hey, Sakura-chan! We could tra- Huh?" He sensed a weird Chakra behind him, but only saw two Shinobi walking through the same street as them. 'The weird Chakra is similar to mine, but it's not coming from them.' His head shot up and pinpointed the Chakra coming from a person in the tree above the duo.

Sakura had stepped next to him. "Shinobi from the Sand? What are they doing in Konoha?"

"Sand?" Naruto repeated, just now seeing the different signs on their Hitai-ate. One was girl with four short blonde pigtails, while the other was a guy with purple paint all over his face. 'Sure a weird bunch.' He turned to Sakura. "Sakura-chan! Wanna train?"

"Not today, Naruto." Sakura replied, slowly walking past Naruto and towards the Sand-nin. "State your purpose!" She ordered suddenly. Naruto frowned at her, wondering why she would confront these two strangers. "As a Konoha Shinobi, I have the right to question any foreign Shinobi in Konoha!" Sakura continued in a stern voice.

"Are you stupid, girl?" The blonde Suna Shinobi started. "We're here for the Chuunin Exam, obviously. Aren't you told anything?"

"Never mind this, Temari." The other Suna-nin said. "Let's just leave these Genin here."

"But… You're Genin, too… right? If you're here for the Chuunin Exam?" Naruto asked as he joined Sakura and stood in front of them. "Who are you?"

"That's none of your business, brat. If you participate in the Chuunin Exam, you might find out." He grinned.

"I wasn't talking to you, purple-head." Naruto said as he pointed past him right into a tree. "Who are you?"

Temari and Kankurou turned to see Gaara travelling down from a tree using Sand. "I am Sabaku no Gaara."

Kankurou's eyes narrowed as he looked at Naruto in a new light. 'This kid sensed Gaara while I and Temari couldn't… He's better than he looks.'

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto nodded, at the same time recognizing the name.

"Ah, I am Sabaku no Temari and this is Sabaku no Kankurou." Temari introduced. 'He's impressive…'

"I'm Haruno Sakura." Sakura finished. "So you three are… siblings?"

"Obviously." Kankurou sneered at the girl.

"Let's move." Gaara suddenly ordered, while Naruto noticed Kankurou and Temari both flinched shortly at his voice.

As the Suna Trio moved away from them, Naruto faced Sakura. "He's strong… That Sabaku no Gaara. He has almost as much Chakra as I have…"

Sakura simply frowned at Naruto. 'Sasuke-kun has more Chakra than both of you! Shannaroo!!'

---

"Unreal…"

"What is it?"

"That boy… The frequency his body is moving in is.. It is impossible. Something is wrong."

Kin stared down from the tree at the pink-haired girl and the blonde boy. "What do you mean, Dosu?"

"He's not standing still… at all. Or is he?" Dosu rubbed his ears through his bandages. "Those two are teammates of Uchiha Sasuke, right? Our target during this Chuunin Exam." He whispered. "That boy…" he said as he stared at Naruto. "Something's really wrong with him. My hearing lets me know this much."

Zaku snorted. "Well, if you're afraid of him, I'll take care of the brat. You be sure to take Sasuke out, then."

The bandaged Sound Genin simply ignored his teammate and continued staring at Naruto. 'No… I have a feeling we won't be able to lay a finger on that boy.'

---

Hatake Kakashi was usually a calm and collected type of guy, some might say he gives a whole new meaning to the word nonchalant. He was by most known as the guy who's always late. To see him in a room where all Jounin Instructors were to meet before anyone else was therefore quite shocking.

Kurenai and Asuma glanced at each other as they walked in to see the Copy-nin seated in one of the few chairs in the room, reading a book titled Icha Icha Paradise.

The room was where ANBU Squads usually gathered to prepare for high-ranked missions. The Chuunin Exams were coming up, so most ANBU were stationed in Konoha, so this room would be empty for most of the month. There were few chairs, but many Jounin Instructors and many other Shinobi who were to be part of the Chuunin Exam as examiners or proctors of some sort were scheduled to meet here.

Which meant whoever was early had a chair to sit on.

Perhaps that was why Kakashi was so early, Kurenai and Asuma thought.

Truthfully, Kakashi was a bit unnerved. The Hokage had told him nothing about Naruto's weird actions on the Wave Mission, except that it had to with his 'special powers' and that it was classified. As his Instructor, Kakashi did feel he had to know everything about him and his other students.

Yes, he would be questioning Naruto on it himself… once he felt it was safe. At the moment, the Third really made it obvious it was classified for good reasons.

As time passed, many more Jounin and Chuunin entered the room and in under an hour, the Third Hokage had also appeared.

"We will do this quick, as I have many reports to sign today." The Third started, not bothering to explain why everyone was here. He had deemed his subordinates smart enough to skip that. "At the moment, we have sixteen Genin Teams in Konoha. As the Chuunin Exams is held in our own Country, we're allowed to implement six teams, rather than three. If the outcome of this assembly proves that more Genin have been judged adequate enough for the Chuunin Exam, I will be listing them off. Begin, Maito Gai."

"I state Team Gai skilled enough, Hokage-sama!" Gai half-yelled as he bowed before the aging man.

As many more Jounin spoke of their decisions to the Fire Leader, the result in the end was exactly six Genin Teams. What surprised Sarutobi Hiruzen most was that the three Rookie Genin were nominated as well, this year. 'Interesting, indeed.'

The Third then motioned seemingly towards nothing, but out of nowhere and ANBU Captain appeared. "Now, Kira-san will be informing all of you about everything in and around the Chuunin Exams." The Codename Kira was always given to the highest ranked ANBU Commander.

Sarutobi walked out as Kira started about how many Genin Teams each Shinobi Nation had sent.

---

Sabaku no Gaara. He would be a very trustworthy ally. With the Killing Intent he seemed to constantly be releasing around him, he really wondered how. But his future self did tell him something very important. Gaara was just like him; a Jinchuuriki. There were many still around and his older self had asked him to locate them all before the Akatsuki got their hands on them.

Akatsuki… An organization of mislead members, with an apparently immortal leader. He would have to continue training himself if he wanted to be able to handle an S-Ranked Missing-nin.

Yes, before this Chuunin Exam got off the ground, he would have to face Gaara. From what he could tell, his own siblings even feared him, which made him believe Gaara was more often alone than not. Time to spy on a fellow Jinchuuriki.

---

"Well, so far, he's the only one that seems better than average. But I wouldn't worry too much about him, he's probably still no match for the average Suna Genin."

"Hmm… And his name was?"

"Uzumaki Naruto. Though I'm not sure if he's participating." Kankurou reported as he had scanned Konoha all day along with Temari. "Don't bother grilling Temari either. She's already stated she doesn't expect too much competition in this Exam."

"Konoha is famous for its clans, Kankurou. Especially the Hyuga and the Uchiha, although the latter only has one member. I'm sure Konoha will send their finest to show off in this Exam." Kankurou's Jounin Instructor, Baki, warned. "Every Nation knows about the lone survivor of the Uchiha Clan; Uchiha Sasuke. If that brat is in the Chuunin Exams, be sure he doesn't get in the way."

The Puppeteer snorted. "No Konoha Genin can beat a Suna Genin, Baki. We both know that much."

---

He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was quite pleased with the Genin Team he was given to work with. At first he was horribly disappointed to find a Fangirl and a dead-last in his team, but both proved to be better than he originally had guessed.

Slightly better.

Haruno Sakura was an annoying banshee whose only skill was yelling out his name. Although she wasn't that skilled in doing that, if he really thought about it. But she had improved. With her Chakra Affinity now known, she at least had some Ninjutsu in her repertoire. But he did find it annoying that she came bugging him about Fire Techniques…

After some time, he finally found out that Naruto's affinity was Wind. If Kakashi knew, he sure didn't say anything about it and he was sure Sakura was oblivious to anything and anyone but him, so she obviously didn't know.

He had scowled when he once spotted Naruto training and realized his Sharingan couldn't copy Naruto's Fuuton Jutsu. He was also very sure Naruto knew he was there at that time, too.

Yes, he had admitted to himself that Naruto was a formidable Shinobi. He had already proven that he was on a higher level than Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba, in his eyes. He was curious to find out how long it would take to defeat Naruto in a fight. Would it be seconds or minutes, he wondered.

This Chuunin Exam would be a good test to see how far he had gotten. His fight against that weird fake Hunter-nin was rather disappointing, as he had quite evidently lost that battle. But at least that fight had made his Sharingan stronger. He could see a lot more now.

As far as he knew, Naruto had Fuuton Jutsu and Barrier-Type Techniques. He also had that Kage Bunshin. The warning Kakashi gave him still rang in his mind. 'Don't copy that Technique, Sasuke. Naruto is an exception, but even Jounin have trouble controlling the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and usually don't use that Chakra-draining Technique.'

He received no clarification about the warning. He wondered if Naruto had so much Chakra, then.

Kakashi had already taught him a new Jutsu, one that was very powerful; The Chidori. With his Sharingan this far developed and his arsenal of Lightning-based Jutsu expanding, Kakashi thought it'd be helpful.

Sasuke smirked. Helpful, indeed.

---

Konohagakure no Sato… So different than Sunagakure.

People didn't look at him in fear… for a few seconds at least. It seemed it was inevitable that others would always be afraid of him. It was a good thing.

In Suna, sandstorms were somewhat common, but in the Leaf there was none of that. It seemed rather peaceful, but that admittance was quickly squashed as he continued to walk through the streets. Such thoughts were quite unbecoming for a person like himself.

Besides, once given the signal, he had permission to obliterate this entire Village. His siblings were moving in and around all of Konoha, trying to be helpful to their own country, while in truth they were nothing. Barely pawns, even.

"Sabaku no Gaara."

The red-haired Suna-nin merely glanced over his shoulder to see who had called his name. Until given the signal, he was to do as little as possible, meaning… He was supposed to kill as few people as possible. Gaara frowned, however, as he saw the blonde Konoha Genin behind him.

"I remember you… Uzumaki Naruto."

"I've come to talk to you." The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki started.

"Talk? We've nothing to talk about. We will battle, if you are in the Chuunin Exams." Was Gaara's response.

"I don't know yet. But I do know something about you, Gaara." Naruto grinned at the skeptic frown on Gaara's face. "You should know, you and I are very much alike."

"Enough with this nonsense. You are annoying me. If you will not leave, I will be forced to kill you. So-" The Sand Shinobi got cut off.

"You have a demon inside of you."

With those words, Gaara's eyes had widened.

"Just like me."

Gaara's hands clenched into fists, his anger growing. "Just…. like you?" With his patience run out, Gaara's intent to kill the brat in front of him rose and he already had the blonde caught in his sand. "Die! Sabaku Kyuu!!" Using his Chakra, he made a huge hand of nothing but Sand grab onto Naruto and squeezed him to death. "Sabaku Sou Sou!!"

Seeing no blood anywhere, Gaara undid his technique and saw, to his slight surprise, no body parts. "I see. You're faster than I thought."

"It's not speed that prevented my death." Came Naruto's voice from behind Gaara. "I am a Clone."

Gaara's eyes widened as he saw several other Clones of Naruto around him. "What? Real bodies? What Jutsu is this?"

"It is Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Don't bother trying to see which one is the real me, because I'm still hiding myself." The blonde shook his head at Gaara's rage. "Thanks to you, other Shinobi are already on their way to investigate on the Chakra Release here."

Gaara growled a bit, hesitating on if he should attack all these clones and kill the real Naruto or just stand still and listen.

"We need to talk. We are both Jinchuuriki, we can understand each other better than anyone. I'm not sure if you have questions, but I sure do. Unfortunately we can't talk here and not now." With that, Naruto dispelled all his clones and left Gaara to himself. The Shukaku Jinchuuriki snorted at all the smoke around him and continued walking through the abandoned street.

An ANBU Squad had just arrived on top of a roof overlooking the same street but saw nothing but smoke and the Suna Genin.

'Questions.' Gaara repeated in his own head. 'Interesting. Konoha is turning out to be more interesting that I expected.'

---

After their Jounin had informed them they were nominated for the Chuunin Exams and it was up to them whether to take it or not, Sakura watched Sasuke walk away with an unsure expression swimming on her face. She was sure Sasuke was going to take it, and… as she looked at Naruto, who was reading the scroll in his hands, with Kakashi standing next to him reading his small book, she was also sure Naruto was going to take it as well.

What about her?

Was she ready for this Chuunin Exam? Were her skills above Genin Rank? Had she garnered enough experience through missions? If she thought about it, she was pretty sure that Sasuke was above Genin and… though she was hating to admit it, even Naruto had shown skills that were above Genin Level. Heck, the Kage Bunshin was a Jounin Level Technique!

"Sakura-chan? You alright?"

Sakura whipped her gaze from the ground to the worried looking Naruto and gave a short, nervous laugh. "Of course I'm alright, Naruto! Are you stupid?"

Naruto simply frowned at her and even Kakashi momentarily looked away from his Icha Icha dose. "Well… It's just that… You didn't ask Sasuke out and… you were kinda… mumbling to yourself."

Sakura stared.

"I'm not kidding!" Naruto quickly yelled, afraid. "It was just weird, that's all."

"Sakura." Came Kakashi's voice. "It's up to you to decide if you're ready for the Chuunin Exams or not." He pointedly glanced at the forms in Sakura's hands. "I only gave you the application forms, nothing else."

The blonde in between them glanced back and forth. "So, Sakura-chan? You wanna train?"

Sakura suddenly smiled at Kakashi and then turned to Naruto. "Yes."

"Just a minute. I need to talk to Naruto in private." Kakashi held up his hand. "It won't take too long, Sakura."

She watched her Jounin Instructor and teammate walk away and sat down on the ground. She never though, imagined, that she would be training with Naruto, of all people, to see if she was a talented Shinobi or not. But the truth was… she viewed Naruto as the only one who was close to Sasuke's level. Even Kiba, who was second-best in class, seemed… inferior.

Weird.

Since when did she regard Naruto in such high lights?

---

"So."

"I'm sure you already know what I want to talk about, Naruto." The Copy Ninja started. "We haven't had the chance to really talk about the Mission in Wave. You never told me what happened and what Techniques you used. The only information given to me by Hokage-sama was that you… that you used the Hiraishin no Jutsu."

"Yeah… I know the Hiraishin no Jutsu… I've learned it in the same way I've learned the Shishi Enjin, Kakashi-sensei." The blonde stated. "But I can't tell you more than that. Hokage-sama told me not to say anything else as it is…"

"Classified, yes." Kakashi finished. "I want you to know, though… The meaning of a team, especially one like ours. We need to trust each other completely. You, me, Sakura and Sasuke. If we want to work as a team, we need to know all about each other. As your teacher, I need to know what you can do, about everything that you can do."

"I know, Kakashi-sensei. I will tell you everything. Just… not yet." Naruto nodded. "I will tell you this… My Affinity is Wind."

"Yes, that I already knew. I'm more observant than you think, Naruto." Kakashi then glanced away from Naruto the waiting Sakura. "Anyway… Sakura needs some confidence. I think you can give it to her."

The Jinchuuriki looked puzzled. "How?"

"Train with her. But… Don't hold back. Show her where she stands and then… Teach her. In her eyes, you've grown immensely. She'll believe she can do the same." Kakashi explained. "If you ask me, she's good enough already for this Chuunin Exam. But a little boost won't hurt anyone. You know Fuuinjutsu, right? Her Affinity is Fire. Can you… figure something out?"

Naruto was already grinning.

---

"So, you've learned the Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu, huh?" Naruto was chatting away as he and Sakura were walking towards a random training field. "So that means that stuck up bastard taught you something, right?"

Sakura fixed the blonde with a powerful glare. "Naruto! Don't call Sasuke-kun a bastard!!" She then paused, looked away from Naruto and sighed. "But it wasn't Sasuke-kun who taught me. Kakashi-sensei did."

"Huh? But that means he took that mask of his off for you?"

The pink-haired Genin shook her head. "No, he didn't! He just showed me the seals and told me how to use the Chakra. I was actually waiting for it too, at the time."

Naruto seemed lost in thought as he thought about the Technique Sasuke was so good at. "Doesn't it hurt? Breathing out fire?"

"Normally, yeah. But Kakashi-sensei told me my Chakra Control was really good. He said I used the perfect amount of Chakra so no harm comes to me when I breath the Fire out." Sakura explained.

"Whoa, you're awesome, Sakura-chan! I want you to use your Fire Technique against me!" He yelled out loud as they finally reached one of Konoha's training grounds.

The Young Haruno stopped walking and stared at Naruto's back. "Ne, Naruto? What is your Chakra Affinity?"

He slightly turned his head over his shoulder and smiled at her. "You don't know? Mine is Wind. So, let's see what happens when we use Fire and Wind against each other."

Overcoming the shock from learning Naruto had the Wind Affinity, she quickly admonished. "Are you stupid?! Your Wind Jutsu would simply make my Fire Jutsu Stronger!"

Naruto frowned. "We'll see about that!!"

Sakura frowned back and then shook her head. "Fine, I'll show you!!"

--- Scene Break ---

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!"

"Fuuton: Renkuudan!!"

As expected, Sakura's Fire Breathing Technique overpowered Naruto's Wind Breathing Technique, resulting in a large stream of Fire heading straight for the blonde.

Sakura's eyes widened as her Fire Breath turned Massive Fire Blast enveloped Naruto completely and quickly ran to her teammate's location. "Naruto!!"

As the smoke cleared away, She could see Naruto in the centre of a small crater, completely unharmed. "No worries, Sakura-chan! You were right! Wind is really useless against Fire!"

"H-How…?! How can you be completely fine?!"

"You sound disappointed." Naruto pouted.

"O-Of course not! I was worried sick!!"

"Well… I have a secret Technique! Hijutsu!" Naruto grinned, feeling smug. "I turned your advantage into my advantage!"

"Are you going to explain it?" Sakura grinded her teeth at Naruto, who seemed to shine in his own confidence.

"Aww, Sakura-chan! The best secrets are the ones never told!" He then watched Sakura with a critical eye. "How come you look so tired?"

"I… The Goukakyuu no Jutsu… It takes a lot of Chakra. I can only perform one. So, it's kind of a last resort Technique for me." Sakura elaborated. "But, Kakashi-sensei said that Genin normally can't perform this Technique!"

'But… Sasuke's Goukakyuu no Jutsu was lot more powerful than Sakura's, wasn't it?' Naruto thought. "Well… You need to train so you can at least use three of those Jutsu in a row!!"

"Three?! Are you crazy?! I don't have as much Chakra inside me, Naruto!!"

"Well… then let's get you some more!"

Both Genin suddenly turned around at the arrival of a very tall individual. "Jiraiya-sama!" Naruto let out, surprised.

"Jiraiya-sama?" Sakura repeated. "One of the Legendary Sannin?"

"Yup, that's me! I was watching you two and I'll offer you some training! You two up for it?" Jiraiya grinned. He nodded once to the big scroll strapped on his back as he stared at Naruto.

---

TBC

New Techniques:

Kenpou: Rengoukon; Kyuuka no Jutsu: Fire Absorption

Kenpou: Rengoukon; Kyuufu no Jutsu: Wind Absorption  
Kenpou: Rengoukon; Kyuudo no Jutsu: Earth Absorption  
Kenpou: Rengoukon; Kyuurai no Jutsu: Lightning/Electricity Absorption

I've also noticed that I misspelled two Jutsu in Chapter Two:

Kenpou: Rengoukon; Kyuusui no Jutsu: Water Absorption

Kenpou: Rengoukon; Kyuuon no Jutsu: Sound Absorption

The Rengoukon Element under the Kenpou Style;  
This Element stands for Union. It doesn't matter which Elemental Affinity the User has, as the technique absorbs the Chakra that is used for the Technique performed by the opponent. Besides Elemental Absorption, this Element also allows for follow-up fusions of gathered Chakra, though the follow-up fusion Jutsu is to be performed immediately after one or more absorptions.  
The downside for the Rengoukon Element is the high-risk of failure. Even the slightest hint of a different element in the absorption could mean serious injury.  
P.S.; Naruto used the Kyuuka no Jutsu while taking Sakura's Goukakyuu, his own Wind-natured Chakra was completely overtaken by Fire, as this happens during collision of these two Elements.

Next Chapter; Rock Lee faces Sasuke before the Exams start and I'm definitely changing the preliminary matches! Also, Orochimaru is in for a surprise!

Thanks for reading!


	6. Handy Man

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: Nothing important to say other than "Long time no see!!"

---

'There he is…'

It's only been a few days and he was already having trouble keeping his own anger in check. When walking their own grounds, he would have many outbursts, simply because fear triggered a certain reaction in him. Fear provoked his anger, after all. But this was different. She asked her younger brother and teacher about it, but they knew of nothing.

Baki, however, did ask her about any significant Shinobi in Konoha, but she could think of no one spectacular. Kankurou had then spoken about Uzumaki Naruto; the blonde kid that they had met a few days ago. Coincidence would have Gaara in the same room at that time… His reaction was quite violent, so to say.

They had to relocate themselves as their apartment was no longer there.

'He has to be the reason Gaara is having such hard time.' Temari thought as she started approaching the Konoha Genin.

"So… It basically seems the same, huh?" Temari heard the blonde say to no one in particular.

"Indeed."

She double-checked… Temari blinked as she saw the blonde talk to no one at all in the streets. And yet, she did hear a second voice respond. Many villagers were walking around the blonde Leaf-nin, ignoring him or glaring at him, but none were actually paying enough attention to him to notice he was talking to himself. Or was he?

Wait a minute; the villagers were glaring at him?

Temari took a few seconds to observe the situation in front of her and hid herself in a tree overlooking the street. Naruto was still talking to himself, apparently.

She was correct in her first observations. All the villagers were pointedly ignoring Naruto, while other spitefully glared at him. It was clear everyone detested him. 'This situation… it's so similar, yet so different…'

She had then decided.

"Look, it works. How about we move on to the next thing?"

"We should work on sounds. Right now we're probably looking like two complete morons."

Naruto shrugged with a silly smile on his face. "I don't mind if they think of me that way. It's actually better, that way."

"Uzumaki Naruto."

The Konoha Ninja turned towards Temari and gave a friendly smile. "Ah, you're… You're Gaara's sister, right?"

---

**Aerial Perspective**

_Chapter Five: Handy Man_

---

"Fuin Bunshin no Jutsu." Naruto slowly uttered as he looked at the drawings on the scroll on the ground. "Using written seals instead of handseals to create a clone. With Chakra infused into the written seals… It is actually a summon of a clone of myself and it seems the same as Kage Bunshin, but... other than that, what is its purpose?"

"No clue…" Another Naruto replied, also studying the scroll. "But the real Naruto went out with one of them to see…"

"It seems useless, since he's been working on this for weeks already." A third Naruto commented while walking out of the kitchen. The three Kage Bunshin were walking around in Naruto's apartment. "He should be focusing on perfecting his Youkon Techniques."

"Still, this Fuin Bunshin no Jutsu is easily performed and can be implemented in our Shinobi Outfit. Resulting in easy Jutsu access… for all Kage Bunshin." He winked. "Which means we only have to gather Chakra to perform the Fuin Bunshin. Since it's been established it's already the same as Kage Bunshin, usage is obvious."

"Maybe… It is implementable, but Naruto's never added anything to his Shinobi outfit before and his skill in Fuinjutsu isn't that high yet."

"Which brings me to his next experiment… The Jikken… It's a highly advanced Fuinjutsu, fixated on the eyes. Once performed, it's permanent. The rank of this Fuinjutsu equals that of the Shiki Fuin."

"He'll need Jiraiya-sama to figure out if that works or not. Something that big comes with a downside. It's probably why he hasn't tried it out yet."

---

"Yes. Sabaku no Temari." She introduced herself, once again, much to her own displeasure. She never did like it when people couldn't remember her name. "I wanted to talk to you…"

"About Gaara." Naruto nodded his head, before turning his head to the left. "Tell the others I'll be back soon."

Temari looked somewhat dumbfounded before she frowned at the boy in front of her. "Who are you talking to?"

"Huh?" Came the response. "To my clone, of course."

The female Suna-nin's frown deepened. "There's no one there."

This time, Naruto frowned. But then, slowly, a grin came to his face. "Oh? This is interesting… Dispel yourself." He ordered the seemingly empty space next to him.

Temari felt a slight breeze of air and after that, a small amount of smoke right at the spot Naruto seemed to be talking to. 'Wait… Was there really something there?'

"Alright. Let's talk." Naruto felt really good about himself. 'The Fuin Bunshin is very helpful…'

---

Jiraiya was making his way to the office of the Hokage. He decided to take his time as he had a lot of things to think about. He was a Seal Specialist and his had his own way of creating Seals, Namikaze Minato was a Seal Specialist and he also had a way of creating seals. He admitted that he sometimes had trouble understanding the Fourth's seals, but in the end he understood. The seals implemented on Naruto's outfit, however… he just didn't understand and he probably never would.

It definitely wasn't Minato's style, he was sure of it.

He didn't want to admit it, but it seemed that those seals were even more complicated than Minato's. The thought frightened him. If someone was helping Naruto, someone more skilled in Fuuinjutsu than the Fourth Hokage and himself… He would have to pay close attention to the blonde kid. Very close attention.

The Toad Hermit slowly walked up the stairs that lead to the Hokage's Office. 'The kid learns fast, too… His basic element is Fuuton, but he already knows how to seal other elements into scrolls so he can use those too… Not only, that… His handseal speed is insane; someone must have been training him in that. A fresh Genin like him shouldn't be able to perform Jutsu so quickly.'

"Jiraiya, I've been waiting."

The Legendary Shinobi frowned as the Third Hokage was actually standing at the top of the stairs. "Shouldn't you be busy signing your paperwork, Sarutobi-sensei?"

Hiruzen sent him a serious gaze as a reaction. "Certain things are more important at the moment. Follow me, Jiraiya."

He did as he was told and soon found himself in the old Sarutobi's office. As he watched the Third take a seat, he quickly noticed the Third's viewing orb on the desk, next to a massive pile of paperwork. He sweatdropped for a second. 'Being Hokage sucks…'

"Our Naruto is very… open… about certain things he shouldn't be open about." The old man put a hand on the ball of glass. "I've chosen to observe him every now and then and what I saw today did not please me. He has spoken to a Suna Shinobi about being a Jinchuuriki. Most likely, the Kazekage now knows Konoha is housing a Jinchuuriki. Thanks to Naruto, though, we also know Suna is housing one as well. Sabaku no Gaara is a Jinchuuriki and he is in the Chuunin Exams."

"I must say, Naruto's doing an excellent job of gathering information. Although he shouldn't be sharing secrets." Was the opinion Jiraiya gave. "What else did you see?"

"That alone was enough to worry me, Jiraiya. Not even Shinobi his own age, in Konoha, know he is a Jinchuuriki, but now… Suna knows he is. He must be told he is prohibited of speaking of it. Seeing that you've taken the task of being his Sensei, I want you to inform him."

"As far as I know, Hatake Kakashi is his Jounin, right? I'm nothing official to him, except a godfather, old man. But don't worry, I'll tell the brat." He then paused. "You can use that glass ball of yours to view the bathing houses, can't you!?" He yelled out, suddenly shocked.

The Third coughed in his fist. "Now then, how about telling me about what you found out about the boy?"

"The boy's good. He's Chuunin Level and I am not joking around. That outfit of his? I can't sense him thanks to that. Usually, when a Shinobi performs a technique, he or she has to gather Chakra, right? It's a fact. When he does it, his outfit makes sure no one can sense that Chakra. It's amazing. I haven't seen a lot of what he can do but what I've seen is impressive. There's one thing that's really bothering me, though."

The Hokage nodded his head, a bit apprehensive.

"He's not even trying… He's holding back a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean a massive shitload. The kid is as secretive as his dad was."

Sarutobi nodded his head. "I figured as much."

---

While Sakura had trained a bit under Jiraiya alongside Naruto, Kakashi had been training Sasuke. The Copycat was impressed with how far Sasuke had grown since he started off as Genin until now. He was fairly confident the young Uchiha would become Chuunin this month.

Already he noticed that both of Sasuke's eyes had two tomoes… Next to Sasuke, you had Naruto, who already knew the feared Hiraishin no Jutsu. A little bird also told him about Sakura training with the blonde, so… Yes, his team would be one of the strongest in this Chuunin Exam.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi almost dropped his book in surprise at the sound of Naruto's voice… in front of him? Did one of his students, a Genin, sneak up on him? But then, why couldn't he see him? "I… I must be hearing things." He mumbled to himself as his one active eye found its way back to Icha Icha Paradise.

"No, you're not."

He closed his book in one go and quickly put it in one of his pockets. "Show yourself, Naruto."

"Ah, I'm right in front of you, sensei. I think your sight is failing you in your age." Came the infuriating and obviously entertained voice.

Kakashi revealed his Sharingan and suddenly saw Naruto standing right in front of him… "How…what Jutsu is this, Naruto? Only my Sharingan can see you? Is this Meisaigakure no Jutsu?"

"I'm not telling. It's classified." He cheekily replied, a grin very active on his face. "Definitely not that Jutsu you just named, though. But now I know the Sharingan can see me…" The Naruto in front of Kakashi then dispelled.

"A clone?!" Kakashi couldn't help but let out. 'Naruto… What kind of Jutsu are you making?'

---

The three of them had decided to meet together before entering the building where the first test of the Chuunin Exam was being held. Along the way, Sasuke and Sakura shared confused and wary looks with one another as Naruto seemed to chuckle occasionally, as if someone had just told him a joke.

As they walked the stairs leading up to the third floor, Naruto shivered, Sasuke stopped walking and Sakura simply stared at the group of Genin being held up by two Chuunin Proctors. "Heh! If you can't even handle that much, you should quit being a Shinobi, let alone try to become Chuunin!!"

Team Seven observed how a young Genin, just a bit older than them, was on the ground, obviously having been hit by one of the Chuunin. He was wearing a green jumpsuit.

"Tcheh. How pathetic." Sasuke had chosen that time to intervene by stepping up between the Chuunin and the Genin. "This Genjutsu." He then turned slightly to look at his teammates. "You noticed, didn't you?"

"Obviously." Sakura responded as she walked towards Sasuke. "This is the second floor, after all."

'Genjutsu, huh?' Naruto thought. 'My outfit lets me know there's a Genjutsu by making me feel cold… Ingenious, future me. It's obvious how it was created. The reaction comes when I walk into a foreign, active Chakra Source. The Seal that activates needs to be refilled with my Chakra.' The blonde thought as he searched his outfit for the Genjutsu Warner.

"Oy, dead last, you coming?" Sasuke sent Naruto a bored look.

At that exact time, the Chuunin chose to attack Sasuke, but Sasuke had already foreseen it and had kicked the Chuunin back against the door behind him. "Don't try anything stupid, Chuunin." Sasuke let out, unimpressed. Clearly the Uchiha was thinking this Chuunin was weak.

The boy on the ground was impressed by the speed Sasuke had displayed. He had been thinking of interfering with the Chuunin's attack as well, but the Uchiha beat him to it, and fast. "Uchiha Sasuke-kun, right?"

Sasuke was daring the other Chuunin to attack him as well before he turned to Lee. "Yes?"

"I am Rock Lee!" The boy bowed and turned to team 7's other members after. "Then you must be Haruno Sakura! Your name means we are meant to be together!" Sasuke frowned, Naruto burst out into laughter and Sakura looked horrified. "It's true!!" He confirmed to himself.

"B-big brow…" Was all Sakura managed to let out, making Naruto laugh even harder.

"Fuzzy Eyebrows!!! Hahaha! Now I know who he meant!!" Naruto laughed, before suddenly turning serious. 'He's a precious comrade.' He glanced at Lee's teammates. 'And so are they.'

Lee was about to frown at the blonde, before his teammates approached him from behind. "Oy, Lee. I thought you said you didn't want to stand out. What are you doing?"

"My. True. Love!" Lee danced towards Sakura, who reacted by planting her fist straight into Lee's face.

"Shannaroo!! Stay away from me!!"

Neji had easily stopped Lee's flight and set him on his feet again. 'Interesting, so this is Kakashi's team… Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and…' He looked at the snickering blonde in the corner. 'I don't know his name, but I can already tell that doesn't matter. The real deal is Uchiha Sasuke or… his Sharingan.'

They all made their way towards the next floor when Lee stopped his team. "There is something I must do."

---

Naruto was chuckling again as they were walking through a big room, allowing entrance to the first test of the Exam. "Why are you laughing all the time, Naruto?! These Exams are serious!" The pink-haired girl suddenly rounded on Naruto.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan! It's just that I was thinking about that guy, Rock Lee!"

"I'm trying to forget all of that! Stop talking and stop thinking about it!!" She ordered. "Those big bro-"

"Excuse me!" A voice interrupted her speech.

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto looked up to see the person they were just talking about.

"Gah!" Sakura tightened her right fist. "You want another one?!"

"A-Ah…" Lee seemed flustered as he rubbed his sore cheek. "No…" In truth, that punch had really hurt him. He was sure he had never been hit that hard. "Uchiha Sasuke. I am Rock Lee!!"

The entirety of Team 7 frowned. 'He had already introduced himself before, right?' They all thought in unison.

"I wish to fight you!"

"Knowing I am an Uchiha… You still want to fight me?" Sasuke boasted. "You must be crazy."

"Exactly! Because you are an Uchiha, I can prove a point!"

Sasuke shrugged. "Fine. Show me your moves." He activated his Sharingan. And Naruto seemed a bit relieved at that time.

"So those are the Sharingan eyes." Lee spoke as he jumped down to stand face to face with Sasuke. "I will not hold back now, Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Tcheh… Bring it."

---

Their movements were fast, real fast. Gai was very impressed as he watched how Kakashi's prize student was fighting his own student, Rock Lee. Hidden in the shadows, unseen by anyone, Lee's sensei could easily observe the sparring match.

Sasuke was easily dodging every attack Lee threw at him. 'Not bad at all, Kakashi. Your kid knows how to move.' But it was pretty obvious the movements were tiring the Uchiha out quite a bit. 'If Lee loses the weights, he'd probably be the better of the two.'

"Uchiha Sasuke-kun! You are a worthy opponent!" Lee yelled in between attacks. "I never thought you'd be this good, really!"

"Tcheh. Just wait until I'll be the one attacking." Sasuke said as he jumped around Lee's roundhouse kick and ducked under the follow-up kick. After that, he jumped back to avoid another roundhouse kick. 'This Lee character is better than I thought. I can't find an opening.' He thought as he landed a few feet away from Lee.

The boy with the big eyebrows bowed. "Uchiha Sasuke-kun! I shall now take this match seriously!"

Sasuke frowned. 'Seriously?' But Lee suddenly looked scared and Sasuke didn't do anything.

"Guh-Gai-sensei!"

Sasuke jumped a 360, creating distance between him and the man who had appeared behind him. 'Shit, I didn't sense this guy at all!'

Without any warning, Lee got hit in the face, while Sasuke was still staring at Gai, who had just now disappeared. "Lee!! You were just about to break a rule!! You know what that means?!"

Sasuke turned around to see Gai towering above Lee. 'This guy might even be faster than Kakashi…'

"Gai-sensei!! I apologize!! This means I must walk backwards fifteen times around the village on my hands!! If I fail to do so, I shall try it again, but then adding hundred push-ups after every ten steps!!"

Sakura's eyes widened at the crazy punishment, while Naruto seemed to wonder a bit about it, his right hand on his chin. 'That kid's crazy alright…'

Sasuke was slightly panting, staring at the two lookalikes in front of him. "You are… his sensei?" The Uchiha asked.

"Why yes, young man!!" Gai hollered. "I am Maito Gai, teacher of Rock Lee!"

'These guys really like introducing themselves…' Sakura stared.

"You guys are pretty fast!" Naruto suddenly voiced. "But I've seen a whole lot faster." He grinned.

Gai and Lee just returned the grin. "Trust me, boy, you haven't seen us at our fastest!"

The blonde returned the grin tenfold. "I should hope so… Otherwise you might as well quit this Chuunin Exam right here and now…" Sasuke and Sakura frowned at Naruto, who now seemed to chuckle wildly.

Gai and Lee both stared at each other with shiny smiles. "We'll show you… We'll show you why we will never quit!"

Naruto nodded his head. 'These two… They will be powerful comrades.' He walked over to Sasuke and handed him a soldier pill. "Let's get going. We have a Chuunin Exam to finish."

---

Sasuke's eyes were widened greatly.

The moment the First Test had started, Sasuke knew you had to cheat it to beat it. So, as he watched a random Hyuga activate his Byakugan, he activated his Sharingan.

The moment he did, though, he almost fell off his chair.

The room was filled with… with a hundred clones of Naruto. And they were all yelling, but… Sasuke wasn't hearing anything. He could only see how they all seemed to be yelling at one another in the classroom. 'Wha-what is this?! What is Naruto thinking?!'

He checked a random Hyuga, the same as before, to see if he was noticing anything, but he could tell he didn't. Only the Sharingan could, apparently, see this version of Naruto's clone. 'So many…' There were about four clones standing by every student. The young Uchiha was sure all the clones were yelling random answers at the real Naruto. His Sharingan could also see that these Clones could walk through things. Very similar to the normal Bunshin, yet invisible…

'Ingenious, this Jutsu…' Sasuke thought. Trying to ignore all of Naruto's clones, Sasuke chose to use his Sharingan to copy the right answers off of Naruto's movements. 'Who would have thought I would be copying Naruto? I should feel ashamed…' he moved his hands. 'And he moves so sloppy, too.'

---

As soon as Mitarashi Anko crashed into the room through the window, Sakura knew Naruto would like this woman. Turning her head, she shook her head shortly with a smile on her face as Naruto looked very enthusiastic.

"Not bad, not bad, Ibiki! Not many left, but still too much! I'll be cutting this little group in half be sure of it!! Alright, follow my you goddamn midgets!" Anko yelled out to the remaining Genin in the classroom.

They followed the special Jounin to giant forest, with trees that seemed to be able to scratch a few clouds, even. "This here is the Forest of Death!"

"……………"

Anko frowned at the silence. She looked at the group and saw only a few staring at the forest with fear in their eyes. There was one that wasn't even looking at the forest! 'That kid…'

With the same speed Anko had thrown the Kunai, she watched it being caught. She was about to use Shunshin to get behind the kid, but paused as soon as she saw that. 'That kid… wasn't even looking at me, how could he have seen?'

Naruto simply chuckled. "This yours?"

Anko released a short, barking laugh. "Not bad, you ugly brat." Using Shunshin, she appeared beside Naruto and snatched her Kunai back. The Jinchuuriki had received several warnings of some Fuuin Bunshin around, but even without those, the Kunai would never have hit him.

He backtracked, though. 'Ugly?'

"Quit showing off, dobe. I've seen your Clones." Sasuke said as he stepped next to his blonde teammate. He was going to ask Naruto what Technique it was, but decided against it. He wouldn't want to be learning anything from a dead-last, after all.

"Of course you have." The Uzumaki rolled his eyes. "You and Kakashi are the only ones who can, after all."

"Oh? So you knew the Sharingan can see through all of your techniques? Then, you also know it's useless trying to come up with techniques that can-"

"Sasuke." Naruto cut off. "She's waiting to continue her explanations." The blonde gave his teammate a deadpan look, before pointing at Anko, who was frowning at him.

The Uchiha folded his arms and looked elsewhere.

"As I was saying! You fill in these forms and you're allowed to die!"

---

Naruto chuckled as soon as his team walked through the gate entering the forest of death. "Guess what guys?"

Sasuke and Sakura looked at him, both looking a bit tired. "What is it now, Naruto?" The pink-haired of the team asked.

"I know which team carries which scroll already!" The blonde couldn't contain his laughter. "I've got a few clones trailing every team, too!"

Sakura looked dumbfounded, while Sasuke actually smirked. "So? Trailing them doesn't mean you know where they are. You're with us, you stupid idiot, they can't let you know. By the time they've travelled all the way to you, their position's already changed. And that's ignoring the fact your clones probably have the same intelligence as you, so they won't be able to find you."

"Whoa." Naruto grinned. "You sure like to bomb my techniques, huh, Sasuke? But you're wrong; as soon as my Clone dispels, I get their information! Teeheeheehee! We're winning this thing, easy!"

Sasuke and Sakura looked shocked, stared at each other, before staring back at Sasuke. "…"

"Uhm, so… what do you know so far, Naruto?" Hesitantly, Sakura managed to ask.

"Well… it's a bit alarming, but… Apparently, there's this Grass Shinobi who's only out to test out Sasuke here!" Sasuke glared at Naruto, while Sakura straight out bumped him on the head.

"This is no time for jokes, Naruto!"

"I'm not kidding." Naruto said, absentmindedly rubbing the back of his head. "He's heading straight for us but it's going to take a while before he's here. That guy's good, too… Faster than me. He kinda looks like a girl, though…"

"Everyone's faster than you, dobe." Sasuke retorted. "I'll deal with this Grass Shinobi as soon as he comes close. Let's just find a scroll and finish this test. Anywhere close?" Sasuke asked Naruto without looking at him. No way was the avenger going to admit he needed Naruto's help… in anything.

"I have nothing yet." Naruto suddenly moved his head a bit to the right. 'A Chakra signature, behind me. So soon already? Let's see if Sasuke or Sakura notice…'

"We've got company." Sasuke suddenly whispered, grabbing a Kunai and throwing at a tree behind Naruto. "Pathetic." The young avenger grinned as he chased the enemy Genin. "Don't interfere, he's alone. I'll deal with it."

Naruto created a Kage Bunshin and dispelled it immediately. His female teammate didn't understand and sent him a look. "Oh. Well, what you just saw me do was sharing information with my other clones. All the information I have, a newly created Kage Bunshin also has. So all my Fuuin Bunshin now know Sasuke is fighting a Shinobi from Rain. And I kno-" He got cut off by himself. "See… Now I know this guy Sasuke is fighting does not have the scroll." Obviously, one of the Clones that was trailing the team of the Rain Ninja Sasuke was fighting, had dispelled itself to let Naruto know.

Sakura swallowed deeply. 'Damn… I never thought Naruto could be this handy…'

Sasuke landed in front of Sakura and Naruto with a dirty snort. "The damn coward ran away. He's injured, but I can't afford to leave you two by yourselves. If any of you get killed I won't become Chuunin."

Naruto burst out laughing, while Sakura seemed a bit hurt. "Anyway…" Naruto started. "That guy didn't have the scroll. I know which way to go to steal a scroll from a team of familiar people. They're not too far away."

"Who?"

The Konoha Prankster looked at Sakura and chuckled. "I'll give you a hint. It's the team with the laziest Shinobi you know."

As Team Seven started walking, Naruto suddenly paused. "Also… Sasuke."

The Uchiha grunted a reply.

"It seems this Grass Shinobi isn't the only one after you. One my Bunshin just dispelled to let me know three Shinobi from the Sound are also after you… You're a popular guy…"

---

Elsewhere in the Forest of Death...

"Naruto-kun."

"You know my name." The blonde nodded his head once. "Yeah, you're definitely fishy, mister."

The Grass Shinobi in front of the lone Genin of Team Seven chuckled. "Strange… As I recall, your team was dispatched in an entirely different area of this forest."

"And you would know how?" The Kyuubi container asked with a frown etched on his face.

"Ah, very sharp of you." The Grass-nin didn't really answer.

Naruto didn't like this. This creepy Ninja was way too confident in his stance. "Who are you?"

"If you can defeat me, I'll answer you."

Naruto sighed. "I assume you're not some kind of Clone?"

Orochimaru chuckled. "No, I'm not, why do you ask?"

All of a sudden, Orochimaru watched as his world got surrounded by purple walls. 'W-what?!'

"Shishi Enjin." Naruto grinned at the Shinobi in front of him. "You're stronger than me. I don't care who you are or what you want from Sasuke, but… You're not moving another step closer to my team…"

"You insolent little-" Orochimaru slowly started approaching Naruto.

"Hold up." Naruto held out his hand. "I am just a Kage Bunshin. The Shishi Enjin, is also just performed by Kage Bunshin." He then chuckled loudly in Orochimaru's face. "There's nothing you can do here but wait!! Hahahaha!!!" He chuckled some more just to get the message through.

Without warning, Naruto's head got snapped from behind, just before he dispelled. Orochimaru's eyes searched for the four Kage Bunshin that were performing the Shishi Enjin but noticed they were all protected by the same barrier. 'Uzumaki Naruto… You've got a few tricks up your sleeve. I'll be sure to kill you as soon as the Chakra runs out of these Shadow Clones…'

---

TBC

Author's Note: Yeah, Naruto fights dirty…

In The Next Chapter, Team Seven faces off against Team Ten, Orochimaru gets pissed off some more and Naruto meets up with Gaara… And many more things I have in mind…

New Jutsu:

Fuuin Bunshin: Seal Clone.

This version of Naruto's clone is basically the same as the Kage Bunshin, but it can not touch anything. At first, these clones could be heard, but Naruto had soon perfected it, as will be explained in the next Chapter. These clones also work like Kage Bunshin in the way of Information Gathering.

Yeah, Naruto's clone Technique has just risen to a whole new level. I love the Fuuin Bunshin!

As for pairings, I was thinking of a Harem, but… that gets complicated fast. So, I'm still thinking on it…

Thanks for reading or still reading!! I've got more time on my hands again so i think I'll be writing more again!

Cheers…


	7. No Longer In The Shadows

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: Not pre-read. Let me know if there are too many mistakes, please.

---

There was a strange tension hovering in between their team. Considering the team members, one would consider it normal, but to Hyuga Hinata, this was stranger than usual. With the countless conversations observed by the young lady, she knew the two of them were having trouble with something. The two of them being Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino, two individuals who didn't get along that well even outside of a Chuunin Exam.

No, this was entirely different.

"Alright, stop it already!!"

Hinata didn't look that surprised to see Kiba stop jumping from branch to branch and yelling out something random. Her teammate simply was impulsive like that, as, she thought, perhaps all Inuzuka were. What came next did surprise her, though. "It's impossible for a dead-last, alright, Akamaru?!"

Dead-last? Hinata repeated Kiba's words in her head just to be sure, but… in Kiba's eyes, wasn't Naruto-kun the dead-last? Did something happen to Naruto-kun?

"Peculiar." Shino suddenly commented. Hinata flinched as she had forgotten the Aburame was standing next to her, on the same tree branch. He and her had jumped one further ahead than Kiba. "My bugs seem to be telling me the same thing, if it is what I think Akamaru is telling you."

Usually, Kiba would go on an endless rant against his teammate. Thus, to Hinata's surprise; "Yeah… He says Naruto's Chakra has been around us since the start of the First Exam. But that's impossible! Since when does that dead-last know tracking Ninjutsu?"

"Not tracking Ninjutsu." Hinata heard Shino reply. Were her teammates actually having a normal conversation? "This Chakra is as organized as a familiar Jutsu we all know; the Bunshin no Jutsu." Of course, Shino's bugs were quite specialized in Chakra. "I assume we are somehow being followed by… Invisible Clones. Quite a Technique."

"But… that's impossible! It's Naruto, damn it!" Kiba sputtered. The dog-like boy glared at the ground. He knew Akamaru was right, though. This was definitely Naruto's Chakra all around them. "So, these Bunshin are just watching us?"

And then, to all of their surprise, Naruto's voice came through the clearing.

"Yup!"

Hinata jumped back, even though she wasn't even sure where the voice came from. She quickly activated her Byakugan, but all she saw was Chakra Clouds around her.

"You can see him, Hinata?" Kiba asked. "That damn bastard."

"I-I… All I can see is Chakra." She stated, unsure of herself.

"But organized, I'm sure." Shino followed up.

"Not organized, but… concentrated. I can see clouds of Chakra." The Hyuga female explained.

The Bug User nodded his head. "Uzumaki Naruto, I presume?" He spoke out loud. "May I inquire… Why are you following us?"

"I'm not following you." Came the answer from behind them. "I'm protecting you."

---

Aerial Perspective

Chapter 6: No Longer In The Shadows

---

As she surveyed the gruesome massacre in front of her, she couldn't help but watch her little brother with wary eyes. Jinchuuriki were truly dangerous Shinobi, uncontrollable monsters. At least, that's what she thought before she met Uzumaki Naruto.

The strange blonde Konoha-nin had truly surprised her.

_FLASHBACK_

_Temari was following the blonde to a small clearing, near the street they just met. "We can't really talk here." Naruto muttered. "Being a Jinchuuriki means no privacy at all. So, I'm taking you somewhere." Temari's eyes widened as the blonde guy dared to lay his right hand on her shoulder. She was a no nonsense girl, so she was about to retort when-_

_When she was in an all entirely different place than before. 'He used Shunshin?'_

_Naruto smiled. "Alright, this should do."_

_The female Suna Shinobi took a look at her surroundings and found she was inside an apartment._

_A shitty apartment._

_"This is my home. I'm sure you understand that these excellent living quarters come with the privilege of being a Jinchuuriki." Temari saw no humor in Naruto's grin. None at all. "Anyway, about Sabaku no Gaara. I understand your brother completely, Temari-san. We're the same."_

_"He's not like you at all!" Temari hissed. "You're… You're friendly! You're completely different! Gaara's never nice like this!"_

_"I don't know much about him." The male admitted with slight regret. "I don't even know which demon is inside of him."_

_Temari hesitated. She wasn't sure if she should share any information about her brother with anyone, but this guy in front of her seemed… he seemed very trustworthy. Strange, since when did she trust people? But still, was this guy for real? Was he a Jinchuuriki, too? Wasn't he just lying to get information?_

_"I wish to learn more about Gaara, Temari-san." She looked up to see Naruto talking. "I myself hold the Nine-tailed Kyuubi. Here." He lifted his black jacket slightly to let Temari observe the sealing on his stomach. "I want to help your brother. I wish to… befriend him."_

_Temari gulped and took a step backwards, accidentally crushing a Ramen Bowl under her feet._

_"Ah, don't worry about that. I've got like a hundreds more of those."_

_The Sand Ninja took a look at the remains of the bowl and decided then. "My brother… He holds the One-tail, Shukaku. He… He can't sleep at night, so he's very… unstable."_

_"He can't sleep at night? How come?"_

_"My father, the Kazekage, he told me the demon eats away at his personality when he sleeps… So either way, it's bad whether he sleeps or not." Temari stated, her eyes sharp and angry. "It's unfair. My brother can't help it he's like this."_

_Naruto nodded his head. "It seems his seal isn't complete. Although I'm not a real Fuuinjutsu Expert yet, I do know quite a lot. But I know someone who's really good in it. I can help." He then stared Temari right in the eyes. "I promise, Temari-san, I'll fix it so he can sleep."_

_END FLASHBACK_

"Guh-Gaara…" Temari started.

Her red-haired brother was watching the bloodbath in front of him, probably feeling content for the moment.

"Let's find Uzumaki Naruto." Gaara stated. "He and I have unfinished business."

Kankurou had just found the Scroll they needed when he heard his little brother say that. "W-What?!"

As usual, Gaara just ignored him and started walking into a direction he believed Naruto was.

---

Naruto shot a look across the clearing below him, watching as his two teammates and a Shadow Clone of himself were approaching the confused forms of Team Ten.

"This isn't that bothersome for a change." Nara Shikamaru grinned. "I was looking for your team."

"You must be crazy, you big forehead!" Ino screeched. "Don't worry, Sasuke-kun!! We will only kick your teammates' asses!"

Chouji stayed quiet, while Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at Naruto. 'He's quiet, that dead-last. Very unlike him…'

"Shut up, you fat pig!" The pink-haired female of team Seven countered. "We'll stomp you down to the ground easily! We know you have the Earth Scroll! You'd better give it to us!"

This set Shikamaru off. 'They already know which scroll we have? They don't have a Byakugan User in their team, so… How do they know?' The Nara moved his gaze from Sakura to Sasuke. 'He's the problem here. We'll have to defeat him first. Knowing Ino's like for that guy, she's probably going to work against us, so… I'll fight Sasuke.'

"Let me try first!"

Shikamaru's eyes widened. Did Sakura just yell what he thought she yelled? "Are you sure?" Sasuke asked, folding his arms. "I'll jump in as soon as I don't like where things are going."

Team Ten watched as Naruto copied Sasuke and also folded his arms. "Go ahead, Sakura-chan. Show us what you've learned."

'Impossible. Of all teams I thought their synchronization would be the worst.' Shikamaru analyzed. 'This doesn't feel like Genjutsu, so… they've really grown as a Team. But then, we are Ino-Shika-Cho, nothing bests our synchronization.'

Sakura grabbed two small papers out of her Kunai Holster and stuck them to her wrists. Shikamaru saw how a piece of paper was stuck to each of her palms. 'Those are seals.'

"Bring it, Forehead!" Ino hollered.

"Here I come, pig!" Sakura shouted, rushing at Team Ten.

Shikamaru immediately performed handseals for his Kage Mane no Jutsu, but saw how Sakura suddenly vanished in front of them. 'Shit, Bunshin? A distraction?'

Just in time, Shikamaru rolled out of the way to avoid a hit from behind by Sakura. He watched as Sakura's roundhouse kick was followed up by another aimed at Ino's head. Ino jumped backwards and threw several Kunai at Sakura's position, who… vanished again. 'Another Bunshin?'

Chouji suddenly yelled out. "Shikamaru, behind you!"

"Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw how Sakura's Fireball was as big as his. 'Wh-what the hell?!' He took a look at Naruto to see the blonde grinning.

Shikamaru knew he was too late to dodge and shielded himself with his arms in front of him. That was, until Chouji barreled him out of the way with "Nikudan Sensha!!"

After bouncing a few times backwards, Shikamaru managed to sit up and watch his opponents. "Ugh!" He coughed. "Thanks for attacking me, Chouji!"

The bigger boy rolled out of his Jutsu and faced Shikamaru. He chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, that Fire Jutsu would have knocked you out."

Sakura grinned as she watched the results of her Technique.

The female member of team Ten stood shell-shocked. "What the hell, Forehead!"

The pinkhead shot a look into Ino's direction. "Looks like I have the advantage." She took a look at the seals on her hands and thanked Naruto in her head. 'I used less Chakra, yet the results of the Fireball Technique were huge! Implementing these seals with Wind Chakra is ingenious! I never knew Naruto would be… be so smart…'

"Nikudan Sensha!!" Sakura's eyes widened as Chouji came rolling towards her and noticed Ino was just about ready to use Shintenshin, so she prepared to move, when-

"Sorry, but I can't allow you to move." The Nara a few feet away from her said. "Kage Mane no Jutsu, success!"

Sasuke and Naruto were about to interfere, until- "Same goes for you." Shikamaru let out as he rose from his knees. "You two are trapped by my shadows as well."

The Uchiha looked down to see Shikamaru's shadows around his and Naruto's feet. 'Damn…'

As Chouji was approaching Sakura, and Ino was going to use the Shintenshin on either Sasuke or Naruto, Another Naruto appeared behind Shikamaru. "Yo, Shikamaru. Nice try." Grabbing the Nara by the collar, deactivating the Kage Mane, he threw the black-haired boy into a tree.

"Huh?!" The blonde from Team Ten let out as she had cancelled her Jutsu. Sakura, in the meantime, had jumped over Chouji's Meat Tank Technique. Sasuke and Naruto were still in the same spot.

"A Shadow Clone, huh?" Shikamaru said as he dusted himself off. 'Why am I the only one getting hit?'

"Huh? How did you know we're both Shadow Clones?" The Naruto in front of him said.

This made the young Nara worried. 'So the real Naruto isn't here? Damn, didn't think he would be this troublesome.'

Naruto turned away from Shikamaru and nodded at Sasuke. "You want to handle this, Sasuke?"

"Since we'll be having company, might as well warm up some." Came the Uchiha's reply. "I won't hold back."

'Sharingan…' The lazy genius observed as he saw Sasuke's red eyes. 'So he's activated his Kekkai Genkai. This is going to be such a hassle.' He took a look at Ino and was relieved to see she was still perfectly fine. Chouji had only used the Nikudan Sensha, and thus the Baika no Jutsu as well, twice. He should be fine, too.

He stared at the Uchiha with determination in his eyes. 'Let's bring this Uchiha down.'

"Want me to help, too, Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura had changed a lot… She now wore her hair in a high broad ponytail, kind of like that second Chuunin Examinator but longer, with two long bangs on each side of her face. She still wore the same outfit as she usually did, though. "Shikamaru, I'll take care of the massive forehead, Alright?" Ino said as she landed next to her teammate.

Sasuke sighed as he took one step forward. "I'll handle the other two, Sakura."

The two Naruto in the clearing just folded their arms and sat down on the ground. "Just let me know when you need me, ok?"

"How long?" The Uchiha asked as he observed both Shikamaru and Chouji.

"I figure it'll take a few minutes." Naruto chuckled. "I wouldn't worry too much about it, though."

"Tcheh. Let's do this." Sasuke vanished from view.

Sakura and Ino rushed at each other, both performing the same handseals. "Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Shikamaru and Chouji stood back to back as the two females in the clearing jumped into the trees. "He's faster than us, Chouji. But he's not stronger. Just let him get close and hit him. You're stronger than him, alright?"

The bigger of the two nodded his head and yelled "Baika no Jutsu!", while Shikamaru was ready to launch his shadows at anything that moved.

The duo of team Ten then noticed a slight breeze from above and looked up to see Sasuke descending towards them. "Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!!" Several small balls of fire came raining down upon them, but they managed to dodge all of them. Sasuke landed in the spot where they were both standing before. He ignored Chouji and went straight for Shikamaru.

The Nara responded by throwing a smoke ball at his feet, successfully obscuring himself from Sasuke's view. The Uchiha snarled and jumped back, not wanting to fall into some kind of trap. As he jumped back, though, he noticed Chouji charging at him from behind.

With a quick somersault, the avenger jumped over the Meat Tank, and watched as it barreled straight into the smoke cloud Shikamaru had just created.

As he landed, he quickly had to avoid getting captured by shadows on the ground. 'Kage Mane no Jutsu… Quite a convenient Technique.' The Uchiha mused as his Sharingan easily told him how to avoid everything. He landed on a tree branch and watched how the smoke cleared, only to see Chouji standing there. 'So, Shikamaru's gone elsewhere?'

Hidden from view, Shikamaru tried to think of plans how to beat Sasuke. 'His Sharingan can see through Henge and Bunshin easily… I don't know much about those eyes, but I'm guessing they also help with movements, as he was easily avoiding getting captured by the Kage Mane.' He looked a bit ahead to see Sakura chasing after Ino. 'Sakura's overpowering Ino, too, so we'll have to finish this quick.' He then looked at the remaining member of Team 7. 'And then there's Naruto… He's dead-last, but knowing that the real Naruto is just watching us from some place is… weird. He's known to just jump in randomly, so I'll have to be ready for that as well.'

Sasuke, in the meantime, had focused his attention on Chouji. "You're not very fast, right?" Chouji wanted to kick that grin off of his face. "Try to dodge as long as you can, then." Performing handseals, Sasuke released "Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!!" again.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he saw his teammate and friend run for cover behind a tree, only to have it burned instantly. Getting hit once, Chouji managed to find a boulder strong enough to withstand Sasuke's assault. 'If I had used Kage Mane no Jutsu, he would have found out about my location. He was trying to lure me out…'

"My Sharingan can see Chakra, Nara Shikamaru." Sasuke suddenly whispered. Just like that, a massive fireball was approaching Shikamaru fast. "Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

As Shikamaru dodged by jumping out of the bushes that were now burning, Sasuke jumped in front of him and released a kick at the Nara's head, only…

Only to be grabbed by his leg by as massive hand. "Bubun Baika no Jutsu!" Sasuke looked surprised as Chouji's right hand was as big as his entire body and was holding on to his right leg. "You're not attacking my teammate!"

Sasuke was thrown into the ground a moment later, only to quickly jump back up. "So you can grow anything you like whenever you like? I didn't know you could do that." He then shot a look at Naruto, who was still just smiling at everyone.

"Sasuke…" Naruto stood up. "Those two work pretty well together. I wish I could help you with this, but…" He then pointed into a direction behind Sasuke, Shikamaru and Chouji. Sakura and Ino were still having a Taijutsu Battle somewhere up in the trees.

"We've got some company."

Sasuke just grinned as he saw three Shinobi from Sound slowly walking towards them.

---

"Protect us?"

The bug user in Team 8 turned to Kiba, who had repeated Naruto's words. "I can assume these clones of yours are unable to touch anything, since they are consistent of Chakra alone?" He started. "And it seems you believe we need protection? As I see it, though, your own team seems more ill-prepared than ours. Wasting Chakra like this won't help either of us, or do you disagree?"

"Ah, don't worry about me. I've got a lot of Chakra." Came the boasting voice.

"Ah." Shino all but confirmed. "That you have."

"Wait, what?! You're actually agreeing with the dead-last, Shino?!" Akamaru's master yelled. "You've gotta be kidding me! Stop stalking us, you freak! We don't need protection from someone who's weaker than us! And you're creeping out Hinata, too!"

Hinata yelped shortly.

"See?"

"I believe you are the only who is 'creeped' out, Kiba." Shino responded and before Kiba could retort, he continued. "In any case, since he is unable to do anything but observe, we should start moving again."

---

'Now I get to really test my Sharingan.' The young Uchiha radiated excitement as he faced the three newcomers. "Sound-nin, huh? How about we skip introductions and get right to it?"

"Only if you are Uchiha Sasuke." The Sound Shinobi in the centre, covered in bandages, replied.

"I am."

"My name is Dosu, I'm here to test you."

Sasuke snorted. "I thought I told you to skip introductions."

"Man, this brat's annoying, Dosu." The other male of the Sound Team suddenly spoke up as he lifted his arms and faced Sasuke with his palms. "Here, catch! Zankuuha!!"

A massive Wind Blast ripped through the clearing, but it was only aimed at Sasuke, who easily jumped out of the way.

"Zaku, don't just start attacking!" The female of the team shouted out. "Let's take our time. These are all Konoha Shinobi, so they can't be too strong, can they?"

"Kin is right." Dosu seemed to be the leader of the team. "We have plenty of time. Let's see what this Uchiha kid can do." He then paused as he stared at Naruto. "However… You."

Naruto seemed puzzled as he was being addressed. "Me?"

"What is your name?"

"Ah…? Uzumaki Naruto." The blonde was really confused. Since when were people interested in him? "Why?"

"I already know you are a fake." Dosu started. "My ears let me know that much. I do, however, have a request." At the blonde's nod, he continued. "We are not here to kill." He shot Zaku a warning look. "Only to fight. Please, do not interfere with our fight."

"Why not?" Naruto, ever the brawler, demanded.

"You are too powerful. I can estimate a Shinobi's strength quite easily." The bandaged Shinobi explained. "Yours is a power I can't yet understand. In time, I will. In the meantime, I have just this one request. In return, we will not kill. You have my word."

The blonde of team 7 sighed, folded his arms and seemed to consider Dosu with a hard look, before he reluctantly nodded his head. "Cross the line and I will interfere."

Sasuke and Sakura shot each other a look, both looks saying 'Are they stupid? Naruto's not that strong!'

"Are you done yet?" Sasuke asked. "I wish to test myself as well."

Dosu nodded his thanks to Naruto, before facing Sasuke. "Yes."

Team Ten, completely ignored by the Sound team and team 7, had come together in a tree, overlooking the inevitable fight.

"Ne, what do you think of this, Shikamaru?" Ino asked.

"Knowing you, you probably found out a lot by all of that." Chouji added.

"It's strange, but…" The lazy black-haired boy started. "I think we should consider ourselves lucky that that Sound Team came…" Reading the confusion on his teammates' faces, he started to elaborate. "We all know Sasuke's strong." He held up a hand to stop Ino from blabbering about Sasuke. "Sakura seemed to have improved as well. I'm not saying this to hurt you, Ino, but if I had to judge your little quarrel just before… she was winning."

Ino let out a disgusted snort, while Chouji seemed to snicker a bit.

"That bandage guy from the Sound… He's strong." Shikamaru paused. "I have noticed a few changes in Team 7. Mainly, Naruto."

Ino released a small gasp. "You can't mean…?!"

"Yeah…" The Nara heaved a sigh. "I think he's right. Naruto's improved a lot as well. This is too troublesome."

---

"You little brat…" He was walking up to one of the Shadow Clones holding up the barrier. "How can a Genin like you know a High-Leveled Jutsu like this? It seems very unlikely."

'Oh yeah, this Grass Genin is pissed off alright.' All the Shadow Clones thought. "That's none of your business, she-male!" The Shadow Clone in front of Orochimaru yelled out. He was being protected by part of the barrier anyway.

"Naruto-kun… You should learn some manners…" The Grass Genin suddenly exploded. And in its place was another Shinobi, this one too, by Naruto's standards, a she-male. "I guess there's no helping it. You've forced me to use my real body and you're even forcing me to use a high-leveled Jutsu too…"

"What? You're going to try to get out of the ShiShi Enjin?" Another Kage Bunshin yelled, this one on the other side of the barrier.

"I'm not going to try, Naruto-kun." The Snake Master sighed tiredly. "I guess I'll tell you who I am, since you don't seem to recognize me. Perhaps then you'll give me the respect I deserve." He then faced the Kage Bunshin in front of him. "I am Orochimaru."

And then, all the Kage Bunshin turned enraged. "Orochimaru?!"

"Ooh? So you do know me?" Orochimaru chuckled shortly.

"_There are some you have to get rid of immediately…"_

Those were the words spoken to him by his future self.

"I'll show you how to get past the ShiShi Enjin." Performing a few handseals and biting both his thumbs, Orochimaru planted his hands on the ground. "Kuchiyose, Rashoumon!!"

A massive tower shot out from the ground, spiked with a devilish monster pictured on it. The tower was so huge, it ripped through the barrier, but the barrier still remained. Where the tower hit the Barrier, the tower was already starting to burn. "You're probably thinking it's useless to create this, but…" Orochimaru suddenly walked straight into the Rashoumon. "One of my skills is to be able to walk in and out of my own Jutsu…"

By walking into the Rashoumon, Orochimaru would be able to escape from the Barrier. Before he was fully into the Rashoumon, though, all the Narutos were dispelled. "Wait, Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru walked out of his Technique and took a look at the single boy behind him. "You look different, Naruto-kun."

"Now that I know who you are… I will kill you." Naruto, infused with Sage Chakra and Kyuubi Chakra, faced Orochimaru with sheer determination.

"A Genin? Kill one of the Sannin?" The Snake-nin cackled. "As amused as I am, I have other matters to attend to."

"You're not going anywhere." Orochimaru lost sight of Naruto and found him when he found the blonde's fist in his face. "You will fall here."

---

Sasuke and Sakura looked very confused when Naruto had screamed out "WHAT?!" and then ran away from everyone just like that.

"Ano… Where do you think he went, Sasuke-kun?" The Haruno asked.

"No one cares." Was the Uchiha's reply as he faced the three Sound-nin. "I've got something more important to give my attention to."

Dosu seemed to chuckle quite a bit. "You are lucky I am a man of my word, Uchiha Sasuke. With the absence of the strongest of your team, we could kill you here, easily."

"The strongest of our team is Sasuke-kun, you idiot!" Sakura immediately corrected, on which Sasuke almost seemed to beam.

"Foolish girl, be silent." The bandaged nin responded. "You know nothing about power. Zaku, Kin, let's bring these two fools down."

Sasuke smirked, activated his Sharingan and watched as Zaku readied his hands, Kin seemed to grab something out of her pockets and Dosu revealed a big metallic arm. "Get ready, Sakura. They might start attacking you too."

"Zankuuha!!" Zaku aimed his Wind Blast at the ground, creating a massive sand cloud to appear all around him. "Your turn, Dosu!"

With his Sharingan close to useless, Sasuke looked all around himself to see nothing but dust and sand. He had lost sight of Sakura as well. "Shit, Sakura! Get away! I'll fight all of them myself!" That's when his opponent came barging at him, metallic arm aimed for his face. The Uchiha dodged by jumping over the bandaged guy and out of the dust cloud, only to see Zaku grinning at him. "Zankuuha!!"

Sasuke pivoted in midair, barely avoiding the Wind Blast and landed on the ground, to see several bells immediately landing around him. "It's over, Uchiha Sasuke." He heard Kin, the female member of the Sound Team, say from several meters behind him.

That's when the bells around him started ringing…

Meanwhile, Team Ten had dragged Sakura out of the fight.

---

Orochimaru was thrown into a tree without mercy, with much force. 'What!? How can a Genin hit that hard?! That's… That could very well be harder than Tsunade hits!!' Panting, the snake-like man picked himself up between the splinters of what was once a tree bark. "Uzumaki Naruto… I know you're not related to the First Hokage, so how come you're so strong?"

"Orochimaru…" Naruto started. "We won't be talking now."

"I see… You plan to take me down?" The Sound Leader chuckled shortly as he was quickly healing his face from Naruto's punch. A second later, his Killer Intent washed over Naruto. "How about I kill you, you meddlesome brat!?"

Needless to say, Naruto wasn't impressed by the Killer Intent at all.

Thus, his reaction was to close the distance between himself and Orochimaru and kick him in the ribs, only to grab the almost flying Orochimaru by the left leg, to throw him hard into the ground. Unforgiving, the blonde continued holding on to Orochimaru's leg and continued to flatten the ground with him.

"No mercy for the wicked!!" Naruto chanted as he started swinging Orochimaru into a nearby boulder, watching the huge stone break. "You are the one who'll cause me a lot of trouble!"

There was no time to do any replacement technique… The boy was just too fast! All the damage he dealt to him, was truly dealt! Orochimaru slowly managed to rise to his feet and stare at his opponent. "What… How can you be so fast and so strong?!"

"Guess…"

Orochimaru's eyes widened as Naruto was now behind him and used a "Rasengan!!" in his back.

Tumbling in the air, Orochimaru was again thrown into a tree. "Impossible!" The Snake-nin shouted as he jumped up. "It seems I'll have to get truly serious with you."

Naruto, still infused with Sage and Kyuubi Chakra, growled. "Bring it!"

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!" Orochimaru yelled, now standing on top of a giant snake. Immediately, the Snake lunged downwards to Naruto, ready to swallow the little Genin up.

Only to be stopped by a single hand… Naruto's single hand. Orochimaru watched in shock as Naruto threw him and the snake away like it was a small pebble. 'What… This is not happening!!' Dispelling his Summon, Orochimaru did a set of handseals. "Senei Yashuu!!"

Countless snakes came from out of Orochimaru's sleeves, ready to attack the blonde, but again, he was shocked to see the snakes burn away as soon as they approached Naruto. "I see… Kyuubi's Chakra is protecting you."

"Fuuton, Renkuudan no Jutsu!!" Orochimaru was appalled to see a Shadow Clone to his left, right, front and back a second later, all of them performing the same Wind Release Technique. He looked up to see a fifth Clone performing the Renkuudan as well.

The five Wind Blasts were shot straight at Orochimaru's body.

As the smoke cleared, Naruto dispelled his clones to see no Orochimaru where the Wind Techniques hit. "Shit! He went underground!" In Sage Mode, he could still sense Orochimaru's Chakra. 'He travels fast underground, but not as fast as me…' He then cursed as he sensed something. Immediately, he released Sage Mode and let the Kyuubi Chakra rest.

At the same time, a message seemed to come through, through one of his Shadow Clones. "Sasuke's caught in a Genjutsu, huh? I'm sure he'll be fine. Besides, Shikamaru's team will probably help him and Sakura out, anyway." The blonde seemed to say to himself. He then faced upwards. "I can sense you."

Mitarashi Anko jumped down and landed in front of the blonde. "You drove Orochimaru away?"

Naruto shrugged, he knew Anko hadn't seen the fight. "Was that his name? I guess I got lucky, then."

"Lucky doesn't quite describe what you were, kid. He probably sensed me arriving." Anko sighed. "Which way did he go?"

Naruto seemed to ponder if he could leave Orochimaru to this woman and risk letting the snake escape, but realized he didn't really have a choice. 'She's suspicious of me and expects me to get back to my team.' And so he pointed to the direction Orochimaru was travelling to underground.

"Get back to your team, brat. It's dangerous for a single Genin during Exams like these." She let out as she started jumping away.

Naruto took a look at her leaving and then turned towards the direction his team was. "Might as well check how Sasuke's doing."

---

"Genjutsu, huh?" Sakura heard her teammate mutter through the clearing. She had been dragged into a tree by Ino and Shikamaru seconds after the fight had started. Chouji had been guarding them as they were doing so.

"What the hell is he thinking?" Shikamaru whispered as he watched the fight below. "He's up against three Sound-nin. And their leader's not someone to take lightly." He turned to Sakura. "I'm not going to help your teammate, Sakura."

The pink-haired girl swallowed deeply before she turned back to the fight. "He… He doesn't need any help." She didn't sound too sure of herself.

"Don't worry. They promised not to kill him, right?"

All of Team Ten and Sakura turned their heads rapidly and were surprised to see Naruto standing on the same tree branch they were standing on. 'Impossible! It's like he appeared out of nowhere!' The young Nara thought and noticed he had appeared very close to Sakura.

"S-Since when can YOU sneak up on people?!" Ino screeched, in whisper mode.

"You're so different." Chouji let out as he shook his head. The Akimichi turned back to the fight. "Look, something's happening."

"I thought you knew I had the Sharingan." Sasuke had started walking towards the girl, Kin. Dosu was still standing in the smoke cloud, while Zaku seemed interested in what the Uchiha was doing. "My eyes can see the Chakra for your Genjutsu and all I have to ignore is the sound your bells are making. As long as I have these eyes, I can always see what's REALLY happening."

The young avenger then disappeared and re-appeared behind Kin and kicked her towards Zaku, who just chuckled and held his arms out. "Zankuuha!!"

Not able to believe it, Sasuke stood rooted to the ground as Zaku was aiming at him through Kin's body! "Gotcha, you bastard!"

Kin came barreling straight into Sasuke's body, pinning both of them into a tree behind them. "Good work, Zaku!" Dosu complimented as he was quickly approaching Sasuke and Kin.

Sasuke quickly pushed the now unconscious Kin aside and barely dodged Dosu's attack.

Jumping away from the metal arm wearing guy, he landed safely away from both Dosu and Zaku. "One down, two to go." He said, only to suddenly see his world blur and feel a headache unlike any he ever felt before. Dropping to his knees, he couldn't help but vomit.

"It is over now, Uchiha Sasuke." Dosu snorted shortly as he was walking towards his target. "You weren't too bad. If we were to fight one on one, perhaps your chances of victory would be… slightly… higher."

Zaku was picking up Kin, while Dosu seemed to have turned to the tree the others were in. "Uzumaki Naruto. I have promised not to kill and you kept your promise of not interfering. As thanks, since we have more, I will leave you this Earth Scroll."

Naruto jumped out of the tree and landed in front of Dosu. "Thanks."

Dosu nodded once and took a look at the still vomiting Sasuke. "He will be fine in a few moments." He took a look at Zaku carrying Kin. "We will leave now."

As the Sound-nin left, Naruto walked towards Sasuke and patted him on the back. "Not bad, Sasuke."

"S-Shut up!" The Uchiha managed as he rose. "I'll defeat him next time!"

"Yeah…" The blonde had noticed that Sakura was already approaching them. Team Ten remained in the tree. "Now that we have both scrolls, we might as well turn back to the tower."

"Hold up." Sakura was supporting Sasuke, while Naruto turned to Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji who had now jumped out of the tree. "We need the Heaven Scroll and you have one."

"Now that I don't have to fight Sasuke-kun, I'm sure we'll be able to handle just you and Sakura, since…" Ino grinned. "You're already caught by Shikamaru's shadow."

"It's troublesome, but we need to get through these exams." The Nara explained.

"Shikamaru… I'm also a Shadow Clone… And…" Shikamaru was astounded to see the Shadow Clone able to move, let alone point at something behind him. "So are all of them." Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji turned to see about thirty of Naruto's clones behind them. "You don't want to fight us now, do you?"

Sighing, Shikamaru released his Kage Mane. "It was worth a try."

Naruto chuckled and dispelled all of his Clones. "And to think… The real me isn't even anywhere close to this place."

Team Ten looked petrified when he said this.

---

"This guy… This Naruto, I feel bad for him, now that Gaara's looking for him."

"Well… Maybe they're just gonna talk?" Temari offered as she and Kankurou were walking behind Gaara. Of course, they were whispering. "Naruto's a Jinchuuriki too, you know?"

"What?!" Kankurou screeched in whisper mode. "How do you know?! And why haven't you told me anything!?"

Temari looked at the ground for a moment. "He is… different from Gaara. I feel like I can trust him."

"Temari! I can't believe you're trusting a Konoha-nin! Especially someone who's the same as Gaara!" Kankurou yelled, still in whisper mode.

Both of them momentarily looked at their younger brother in front of them, to make sure he hadn't heard anything. "Look, I've spoken to him. He says he can help Gaara."

The Puppeteer stared at his sister. "Since when do you speak to people? You're either attacking them, meaning you're beating their asses, or you're ignoring them and at the same intimidating them."

"You don't know me well enough, I guess." Temari snorted. "Let's just wait and see what happens. This Naruto might actually be able to do something."

Kankurou chuckled shortly. "Yeah, he might be able to survive a few seconds longer than Gaara's average victim."

"Aw, you could give me a little more credit."

Kankurou and Temari both jumped as Naruto was suddenly walking in between them. "W-what the hell?!" Kankurou managed loudly, as he landed on his butt.

"Naruto!" Temari simply landed on her feet, a few feet away from the other blonde.

"Yo!" The Leaf-nin copied his teacher in greeting manners.

"Naruto…" The three Shinobi all turned their heads to see that Gaara was now glaring at the new arrival. "We…" To their surprise, gaara's siblings saw hesitation in Gaara's body language. As he shook his head, Gaara made up his mind. "Die!! Sabaku Kyuu!!"

"I won't hold back, Gaara." Naruto stated as he held out a hand. "Fuuton, Gufuu Suuheidou!"

A powerful swirling wind blast shot out from Naruto's palm, making Gaara's sand attack shoot out in different directions. To Gaara's shock, Naruto's horizontal tornado went through his Desert Coffin and actually sent him into a tree.

Panting and helping himself up, he watched as his Shield of Sand was too weak for that attack. "H-how?!" He wasn't really hurt, since his Shield took most of the damage, but he was still feeling pain.

"I want to talk… But it seems I'll have to beat you up a bit." Within a second, Naruto's eyes were like those of a frog. Within that same second, Naruto was behind Gaara and hit him hard in the stomach. Gaara was introduced to a whole new world of pain as Naruto continued his assault with another hit in his stomach.

Dropping to his knees, Gaara managed to look up at the blonde. "How can you… be this strong?" The red-haired boy found he couldn't stand up because of the pain of those two hits. His opponent was THAT much stronger.

Temari and Kankurou were both staring at the one-sided match with their eyes wide and their mouths open.

"I need you to be my ally, Gaara." In complete contrast of the situation, Naruto bowed once. "I am strong and I can make you strong as well. Follow my lead, Gaara, as a fellow Jinchuuriki who knows the world of pain."

The blonde held out a hand. "Are you ready to talk now?"

---

TBC

Well, Next chapter, Gaara and Naruto's situation will continue.

I hope I didn't rush it too much, this chapter. But I actually want to go to the point where this fic won't follow the canon anymore. I'm looking forward to it.

Anyway, thanks for reading!!

Cheers,


	8. Preliminary Rounds

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note:

* * *

Taking a look at his own hand, hovering above the panting red-haired Suna-nin, he was wondering how to play this one out. Already he could feel the doubts coming from the other two Sand Ninjas behind him. There was still no movement towards him coming from Gaara.

"Look… I'm here to help you, not to fight you." Naruto uttered slowly.

Gaara murderously looked up from his hurting position and was transforming his right arm at the same time.

Naruto snarled and jumped backwards. "So it's going to be like that." He muttered and performed a few seals. "Fuuton, Hitofuki Togi!" From his mouth, Naruto released a Wind-natured Blast that seemed to focus in one point on Gaara's body, specifically, Gaara's right arm. When it hit him, his right arm was completely ripped off.

"I can keep doing this and you can keep growing it back using your sand, but…" Naruto started to get a bit agitated. _"I don't have all day."_

With that statement and the killer intent that came with it, Temari and Kankurou both realized Naruto was definitely the stronger of the two and jumped in between the two Jinchuuriki. "S-Stop this, Naruto!" Temari yelled out.

The blonde Leaf-nin considered Temari with a sad smile. "I promised I would help your brother, Temari-san."

"You're not helping him by killing him!!"

'This isn't good… Gaara's hurt bad. I've never seen anyone do this to him!' Kankurou shot a hard stare at the Konoha Shinobi before him. 'Who the hell is this guy?! Not even Baki stands a chance against him!'

"Where is his seal?" Naruto asked calmly, still staring at the other Bijuu container.

"O-On his stomach." Temari hesitantly answered.

"I need to perform a Jutsu on his seal. For that, I need him to be calm." His gaze moved from Gaara to Temari and Kankurou. "Can you two get him to stay calm… in any other way that I'm doing?"

"What kind of Jutsu?" Kankurou asked, suspicious of this fellow.

"I've done some research, but it seems that once a Bijuu is sealed, it's really complicated, but mostly dangerous, to…tinker… with the containment seal." The young Uzumaki started. "I've never heard of a containment seal as incomplete as the one on Gaara, making him unable to sleep, but… I know of a solution, definitely."

"…" Kankurou was thinking. "You haven't answered the question!"

Naruto grinned at the puppeteer. "I plan on using the Gogyou Fuuin. It completely separates the Bijuu's Chakra from the Jinchuuriki's Chakra. It's actually easy and I wonder, since you obviously have Fuuinjutsu users in your Village, why it hasn't been used on Gaara."

"…" Both Suna-nins kept quiet, for obvious reasons.

"With the Gogyou Fuuin, Gaara can easily sleep, since the…" Naruto was thinking about which demon was in Gaara. "Shukaku, won't be able to do anything with the Gogyou Fuuin on Gaara's seal."

"… You are… sure?"

Temari and Kankurou, surprised, turned around to see Gaara still panting. But he had stopped transforming. "You can stop her… you can stop her whispers?"

It hurt him, to hear the pain in Gaara's voice. "I promise, Sabaku no Gaara. I can stop all of it."

* * *

**Aerial Perspective**

_Chapter 7: Preliminary Rounds_

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura were walking after a fellow Leaf-nin. A few hours ago, Naruto's Shadow Clone had dispelled itself to let the real Naruto know one Yakushi Kabuto was travelling with his team. They, in the meantime, were having some small talk.

"So, after those Sound Shinobi had ended the fight, they just gave you a scroll and left?" Kabuto asked, interested in the story. "Odd, they must have been impressed by your fighting abilities."

"W-well…" Sakura started. "Their leader actually seemed to respect our other teammate, Naruto, a bit… It was really weird."

"Naruto, huh?" Kabuto repeated. "That Shadow Clone you two were travelling with was some kind of replica of him, right?"

Sasuke was keeping quiet all the time, being quite angry with his defeat, so he let Sakura do all the talking. "Yeah, but he hadn't even fought with Naruto!"

'Kinuta Dosu…' Kabuto thought. 'That kid has always had too strong beliefs in honor in fights. It'll be his downfall, one day.'

"I didn't think those three were capable of killing, but he promised not to kill to Naruto." Sakura was still talking. "Sasuke, he…" She seemed unsure to finish that sentence. "But it was three to one, so it was unfair to begin with! If it was one on one, Sasuke would have easily won!"

'Uchiha Sasuke seems to be quite the disappointment, if he can't handle little Zaku and Kin. Dosu's stronger, but not a match for a future vessel of Orochimaru, one would think.' The glasses-wearing Genin thought. "So, where's your other teammate, then?"

"No one knows, no one really cares!" The pinkhead let out exasperated. "He's got Clones-" She cut herself off, remembering what Naruto told her before they entered the Forest of Death.

'_Don't tell anyone about my Clones… Not even other Konoha Ninja.'_

"He's using that Kage Bunshin Technique too much, if you ask me." She rectified.

"Hey, I think I do okay."

Sakura, Sasuke and Kabuto both turned around to see Naruto descending towards them, obviously having launched himself from one of the tree branches nearby.

Kabuto had his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. 'I didn't sense him… at all. He's good.'

Sasuke was frowning at the blonde and Sakura was glaring at him. As he landed, he only had eyes for the stranger, though. "Who are you?"

"Ah, Yakushi Kabuto. Nice to meet you, Uzumaki Naruto-kun." Kabuto smiled.

Naruto, after staring at the guy for a second, shrugged half-heartedly. "Yeah, Nice to meet you, I guess. You travelling with us?" He replied, shaking the older nin's hand. "Or you waiting for a chance to steal one of our scrolls?"

"Naruto!" Sakura admonished.

Sasuke still remained silent, although he was agreeing with his blonde teammate. They had both scrolls now, so no way were they going to lose them to some suspicious Shinobi. The Uchiha already considered Kabuto to be too nice.

"Ah, two fair guesses, but the first is the correct one." The Yakushi calmly answered as he grabbed a few scrolls out of his pockets, obviously Heaven and Earth Scrolls.

Naruto still had his eyes narrowed. 'My Fuuin Bunshin have been tracking this guy's team from the start and have seen how they have taken their scrolls, but… He had disappeared for a while, actually managing to shake my Fuuin Bunshin off as he travelled away from his own team.' He sighed. 'Obviously he was heading for my own team, but for what purpose? … He doesn't seem to have any ill intentions.'

"Alright. Let's get moving." Naruto said. "We're making bad time, I wanted to be the first to finish this Test, damn it!"

Kabuto chuckled. "There are veteran Genin around, if you can call Genin veteran. Your team is a Rookie Genin team. You can't expect to best the others."

Sasuke stared at Kabuto's back. "Aren't you a Genin Veteran… if such a title exists?"

Kabuto looked over his shoulder. "I am, I suppose. But that's why I am accompanying your team to the end."

"We don't need your help." The Uchiha quickly replied. "We've got both scrolls and we're all fresh. You've got other motives."

Kabuto chuckled again. "I assure you, I have not. I'm just trying to help out fellow Konoha Ninja."

The blonde in the front, Naruto, just sighed at the conversations behind him. His Shadow Clones were dealing with some random Rain ninja in the distance, who were planning to ambush them with some weak Genjutsu. 'It's best not to speak too much. This guy doesn't need to know anything about me.' He took a short glance at Kabuto. 'There's something about him I just don't trust.'

* * *

They had parted ways with Kabuto as soon as they arrived at the tower and, after summoning Umino Iruka with the Heaven and Earth scrolls, team 7 went inside to see which other teams had passed the test.

To their slight surprise, they saw many Konoha Teams in the large area. But when they thought about it, the Chuunin Exam was held in Konoha, which meant there were probably more teams from Konoha participating in this Exam.

Shikamaru's team, Shino's team, Gaara's team, Lee's team, Dosu's team, Kabuto's team and their own. In total, 21 participants left. Twelve of those were Leaf-nin…

Naruto snorted softly as he realized he already knew how everyone here fought, thanks to his Fuuin Bunshin. As the Third Hokage started talking about how this Chuunin Exam supposedly was a way for the Countries to show off strength to one another and how it serves to prevent wars.

The blonde instead of listening was recapping.

Shikamaru's team…  
He had always known Nara Shikamaru was a lazy individual. Naruto now knew, as he had observed how Shikamaru and his team had fetched a scroll, that lazy people often were smart people. Shikamaru was definitely the tactician of the team. Ino was a Mind Walker and acted as the leader of the team. Her Techniques were quite dangerous, but slow. Akimichi Chouji was the strongest in the team, but also the slowest. All he had to watch out for in this team was Shikamaru and his shadows.

Shino's team…  
Aburame Shino had always been the quiet one. Naruto had learned more about the boy than he ever did during the Ninja Academy years. He used bugs and not a few…. A very difficult opponent. Inuzuka Kiba was the perfect tracker, especially when you throw in his dog, Akamaru. And then there was Hyuga Hinata, the insecure part of team 8. But, as insecure as she was, her Byakugan made her, too, a difficult opponent. He hadn't seen much of Shino's team, since they retrieved a scroll close to the start of the Exam.

Gaara's team…  
Sabaku no Gaara, like him, a Jinchuuriki. Controls sand and lots of it. Sabaku no Temari used a big fan to unleash Wind Techniques and Sabaku no Kankurou used Kugutsu no Jutsu. Quite the talented team.

Lee's team…

Rock Lee was fast, real fast. But not faster than him. As far as he knows. Naruto had only seen the boy use Taijutsu. Hyuga Neji could very well be the strongest participant present. He has perfect control of his Doujutsu, the Byakugan. One strike from that guy could very well mean the end of the battle, as Naruto had witnessed in the Forest of Death. Ten-Ten was a Weapon Summoner and a Weapon Specialist. Yeah, perfect combination.

Dosu's team…

He didn't know their last names. Dosu can use sound as a weapon, thanks to the amplifier on his metallic arm. He manipulates the sound and lets it attack his opponent, mainly attacking the eardrums, it seemed. Kin's a Genjutsu user, also using sound to fool her opponents, by usage of little bells. Zaku can throw out Wind Blasts through the palms of his hands, without any use of handseals.

Kabuto's team…

Yoroi can drain Chakra by touching his opponents with his hands. Misumi can bend his body in any way he wants, very much like a snake. And Kabuto was definitely the Medic-nin of the team. As he had observed, he was also the leader of the team.

"Oy, quit dreaming, dead-last!" Kiba's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "I was talking to you!"

"What is it, dog breath?" Naruto muttered as he rubbed his head, feeling quite dizzy from not having paid any attention to what was going on.

"I said why the hell were you following us the entire time?!"

The blonde groaned and noticed everyone was walking towards the stairs in the corner of the giant room they had assembled in. "I told you already, didn't I?" He then pointed to the others. "Where are they all going?"

"Idiot, weren't you paying attention? We're all supposed to go up there and wait to see who has to fight who."

"Why?"

Kiba smacked his own forehead. "You didn't listen to anything, huh?" He mimicked Naruto's previous groan. "Look, it seems there are too many guys left here, so they're going to cut it in half. One on one fights and the one who wins stays in the Chuunin Exams. Scared, dead-last?"

"Heh, this is going to be easy."

Kiba frowned at the blonde. "You're delusional. You're probably the weakest around." Akamaru, who sat on Kiba's head, barked once. "Nah, you're definitely wrong on this one Akamaru. Naruto is Naruto, he'll always be the weak clown."

Naruto simply grinned and followed the dog-like boy up to the waiting area.

* * *

'These people… They're all really strong.'

Sakura looked away from the flashing board as Naruto, next to her, spoke up. "I wonder who I'll be fighting! I can't wait!"

"Shouldn't you be nervous, Naruto?!" The pink-haired girl started. "All of these Genin aren't rookies like us!"

"Well, they are." Naruto shrugged as he pointed at the other two rookie teams from Konoha. "If I were you, I'd hope I'd get paired against one of them. But…" Naruto grinned. "Since I'm not, I hope I'll get paired against the strongest one present!"

Sakura frowned. Had Naruto just insulted her? She wasn't sure. "W-well… The strongest one here is definitely Sasuke-kun!"

She watched her blonde teammate frown. "If that's the case, then this is going to be boring."

The flashing board stopped flashing to show the names;

**Sabaku no Gaara and Ten-Ten**

"A Suna-nin versus a Konoha-nin." Sasuke murmured behind Sakura and Naruto. "This Gaara seems pretty powerful."

Gaara used his sand to carry him down to the fighting area, allowing every participant in the room to see he had control over it. Ten-Ten just jumped down. "Ten-Ten!! You will win!!" Lee shouted after her, while Gai seemed to be giving her a thumbs-up.

"Well, then." The referee, one Hayate Gekkou, coughed. Gaara and Ten-Ten were staring at each other. Well, one was glaring. "Start this match!"

Ten-Ten started by jumping backwards and was slightly surprised to see that her opponent hadn't moved at all.

The Sand Shinobi was simply watching her. His thoughts were elsewhere…

**FLASHBACK**

"_Gogyou Fuuin!!"_

_The blow to his stomach hurt, but it didn't hurt physically… No, his head hurt and he got dizzy and almost fell to his knees, but he managed to remain standing._

"_Gaara, are you alright?!" What happened next surprised all Suna-nin. _

_Temari's hand was on Gaara's shoulder. _

"_W-What?!" Kankurou yelled. "Your sand… What happened to your Shield of Sand?!"_

_Temari was as shocked as her brother. "I-It… It seems like his Suna no Tate is… no longer here." She let out as she watched her own hand on Gaara's shoulder. Gaara himself was still panting and holding his head. _

"_I've cut off the connection between him and the demon within him." Naruto explained. "It seems that Technique wasn't Gaara's, but Shukaku's. Heh, if you're used to a strong defense, you'd better be careful…" Naruto then started looking for something in one of his many pockets. Actually, he just poured Chakra into one of his pockets and summoned something._

"_I want you to have this."_

_Temari looked at the strange metal string holding Kunai in Naruto's hand. It had seals on the handles. "Kunai?"_

"_Yeah… Sabaku no Gaara is my ally. Heh, I want you guys as my allies. These Kunai have special Jutsu on it. It summons me when you throw it." _

_Judging from Temari's and Kankurou's looks, they didn't quite believe it._

"_E-even if that's true," Kankurou started. "What if we summon you right into a trap?!"_

"_That's impossible." Naruto simply answered. "Very impossible." The blonde then turned to Gaara. "You'll be able to sleep now. Once we're out of this Chuunin Exams, I'll teach you the Gogyou Fuuin, the way to seal the connection between the demon and yourself. And I'll teach you the Gogyou Kaain, the way to once again open that connection, should you ever need it."_

"_Why are you doing this?"_

_The blonde turned to Kankurou, who seemed completely unsure about the entire situation. _

_With a sigh, the blonde started. "I've heard some… disturbing news. I need allies, I need comrades, people I can trust around me." He then stared at Gaara. "When I saw Gaara, I realized he was just like me. Born alone in this world, hated and feared by the people around you. The two of us can understand each other better than anyone else can. No offense, since you two are his family."_

"_None taken." They both whispered._

"_I've seen you now and I trust you…" Naruto smiled. "All I need now is for you to trust me."_

**END FLASHBACK**

It was a pain, it really was. Without the Shukaku's automatic defense, Gaara actually needed to use his Chakra to let the sand around him protect him from all the projectiles thrown at him by Ten-Ten. But truth be told, he was glad, very glad.

He was able to sleep and dream now.

All of Ten-Ten's attacks were useless and Gaara was getting tired of continuously protecting himself. "Sabaku Kyuu!!"

Dodging the hand of sand, Ten-Ten realized she wasn't getting anywhere. "Alright, time to push this up a notch!" She said to herself as she threw two scrolls on the ground and touched them with her hands, at the same time pouring Chakra into them.

"Kuchiyose; SouShouryu!!"

Gaara's eyes widened slightly as thousands of weapons suddenly started raining down towards him. "Suna no Mayu!" He created a dome of sand to surround him, while he himself travelled underground, letting a Suna Bunshin behind to fool the girl in attacking it.

Ten-Ten watched as all her weapons bounced off of the dome. She waited and saw that her opponent deactivated the technique. Once she saw the boy again, she threw all of the weapons, which were attached to her fingers with strings, back at him again. "Take this!!"

"Sabaku Kyuu!!"

Ten-Ten, still in mid-air, watched how all of her weapons collided with the boy, but… she also saw another one, a Clone, behind her, releasing another hand of sand towards her. 'Shit, I was tricked! I was attacking the clone!'

Ten-Ten got grabbed by the Gaara's Sand Hand and thrown into the ground. Not letting her go, Gaara simply walked towards her. "Forfeit or die."

Looking at the defiant glare Ten-Ten threw at him, Gaara realized something. 'I… I don't want to kill her… at all.'

The voices in his head were gone. No one was telling him to kill.

"Fine, I forfeit." Ten-Ten growled, after having found out she couldn't move at all.

With a slight sigh, Gaara released her and turned away. 'Strange… This feels good.'

"Winner, Sabaku no Gaara!" The referee let out.

Ten-Ten wasn't as satisfied with the outcome of the match as she picked herself up.

* * *

The names on the board that came next were:

**Uzumaki Naruto – Akadou Yoroi**

Naruto was slowly walking down the stairs to the fighting area, going through all the information his Fuuin Bunshin had gathered about this opponent. 'As far as I know, he needs to touch his opponents with his hands to be able to drain their Chakra. Since I have so much Chakra, I can just use Taijutsu to finish him off. I won't have to be afraid of him touching me.'

"You're a rookie, right?" Naruto heard his opponent shout at him. "I'd give up if I were you. I've been Genin for a few years now!"

"Ah but, that says more about you than it does about me, now, doesn't it?" Naruto remarked snidely.

Hayate Gekkou coughed once. "Please begin the match." He managed to say.

Wasting no time, Naruto rushed forward and caught Yoroi right in the face. As Yoroi was about to drop to the ground, Naruto used his left leg to kick Yoroi in the side. From the blow, Yoroi's body wanted to sail sideways, but again, Naruto continued with another kick, this time his right leg, and planted his right foot straight into Yoroi's face, slamming the older Genin into the ground.

After the short assault, consistent of three simple attacks, Naruto jumped backwards to see what his opponent would do now. 'Surely he can do something else than drain Chakra, right?'

Meanwhile, the referee was astounded to see such speed and no pause in attacks from the blonde rookie. 'That… Yes, those were just testing attacks. This kid might not be so bad.'

Yoroi picked himself up, blood pouring out of his mouth as he glared at Naruto. "You… You're gonna pay for that!"

Naruto nodded his head. "Ah, Yeah… As soon as you manage to stand up."

Indeed, Yoroi was on one knee, holding himself up with both arms as he was struggling to stand.

After a few seconds, he finally stood on both legs, only to see Naruto finish his handseals. "Fuuton, Kaze Shuriken!"

Yoroi cursed, before he ducked under the Wind Shuriken, only to see Naruto's sandal approaching his face fast.

The referee winced as Yoroi was kicked into the wall. Not wanting to wait this time, Naruto quickly continued with handseals. "Since you're supposed to be stronger than me, I might as well not hold back. Catch, old man, Fuuton, Ni Kuuatsu!"

Holding both his hands out, Hayate Gekkou felt a strong gust of air pass him by. The bystanders all watched as a huge explosion came from Yoroi's position. Of course, no one knew what really happened, except for the higher-leveled Shinobi and Doujutsu users.

Naruto grinned when, as the smoke cleared, he saw Yoroi completely unconscious on the ground and the wall completely crumbled. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!" Hayate Gekkou announced.

'Amazing… Releasing two powerful gusts of wind, rotating in different directions, and making them impact at the same time, in one point. It must have hurt.' Kakashi thought as he had observed the attack with his Sharingan. 'Too bad I can't use Fuuton Ninjutsu… The same goes for Sasuke.' He thought as he saw that Sasuke had also been watching with his Sharingan. 'Sasuke's getting more curious about Naruto's skills by the day…'

"Naruto… I didn't know he was that strong…" Sakura let out, confused. 'But… I guess I actually knew, since I'm not really surprised…'

"Whoa… I guess he HAS improved, huh?" Ino, amazed, let out. "He kicked that guy's ass! Go Naruto!!!"

"I think that guy was actually pretty good, too." Shikamaru responded, ignoring Ino's yells next to him. "Man… What a drag..."

"It's weird to say this, but… I definitely don't want to fight Naruto. I couldn't follow his movements since his first attack!" The final member of the team added. He didn't know it, but he was actually eating his chips a bit faster than usual.

On the other side of the waiting area, Kiba was flabbergasted. "Holy shit! What the hell?!"

"Hmmm… It seems he has improved greatly these last few weeks. Could it be his sensei or his teammates that brought forth such improvement?" Kiba's teammate, Shino, murmured. "I can hardly imagine him growing so substantially on his own."

"N-Naruto-kun…" The Hyuga Heiress whispered, also amazed by the fight.

**Uchiha Sasuke – Tsurugi Misumi**

Those were the next names on the flashing board.

"Yo, Teme! Good luck!!" Naruto yelled, as he was jumping up the stairway back to the waiting area.

* * *

'Luck?' Sasuke let the word echo in his head. 'Who do you think you're talking to?'

"Please, begin the match!"

Unlike Naruto, Sasuke chose not to attack head-on, but waited for his opponent to make a move.

"You're an Uchiha, huh?"

"Yeah… so what, you're gonna give up now?" Sasuke smirked. "Just because I have the Sharingan doesn't mean you don't stand a chance." He thoughtfully looked up for a second. "Oh wait, it does." And then he suddenly jumped and performed a few handseals. "Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!"

Tsurugi slithered around all the small Fireballs Sasuke was spewing out at him. 'Oh? Interesting.' Sasuke thought as he stopped his attacks and landed on the ground several feet away from his opponent.

"Come at me, Uchiha!" The glasses-wearing Leaf-nin shouted.

"You can bend your body anyway you want, huh?" The young avenger chuckled. "Which means you just want to choke me to death or something as soon as I come close." He then snorted. "Fine, try it."

Sasuke rushed forward and caught Tsurugi right in the jaw with a right hook. As he expected Tsurugi's neck twisted back, but Sasuke easily jumped away from Tsurugi's now failed headbutt. Instead, Tsurugi's head came face to face with Sasuke's left foot.

Again, Tsurugi's neck twisted back and Sasuke just reacted with a roundhouse kick, this time making Tsurugi's entire body twist around. "Heh, you're too slow to counter me." Sasuke swept both of Tsurugi's legs from under him and followed up with an elbow in his stomach.

Tsurugi's flailed through the air and Sasuke quickly performed a few handseals. "But nice try… Katon, Ryuuka no Jutsu!"

To his surprise, his stream of fire was dodged.

"Your attacks aren't that powerful, you know?" Tsurugi chuckled as he approached Sasuke fast. "But then, it's a little hard to hurt a body like mine."

"Is it?"

Tsurugi's eyes widened as Sasuke was now behind him, planting a Kunai right into his shoulder, followed by another one into his knee. "You can't move so smoothly now, can you?" Sasuke said as he jumped over Tsurugi, who was screaming in pain. Before he landed, Sasuke threw another Kunai straight through Tsurugi's left foot.

"Don't underestimate me!" Tsurugi screamed and chuckled at the same time. "These wounds… I can move them to a… less annoying spot, with this body of mine."

Sasuke sighed tiredly. "You're really… stubborn." Sasuke folded his arms as he saw how Tsurugi moved his wounds around. "Wounds are still wounds. I'll just make more."

Tsurugi was panting slightly as he was ready to face Sasuke again.

"Tcheh. Useless. You can't do anything except move your body around like that." Sasuke sighed and unfolded his arms. "Enough. I'm gonna finish this." The Genin crouched slightly with a Kunai in each hand and then launched himself towards Tsurugi.

The crowd watched as Sasuke pivoted around Tsurugi continuously, dodging every attack at him while at the same time slashing Tsurugi whenever he could, which resulted in quite the bloody battle. The one-sided bloody battle, that is.

Sasuke stopped his Kunai attacked, jumped away and landed close to the referee. "Well, referee? How about you call this to an end? That idiot's not going to be moving anytime soon." As if on cue, Tsurugi dropped to the ground. He was still conscious, but he was in massive pain. "Or I can throw another Kunai?"

Gekkou rolled his eyes. "Winner, Uchiha Sasuke!"

'As expected of an Uchiha, I suppose.' One Hyuga Neji thought as he was watching the scene below. 'Perhaps he might prove to be a powerful opponent.'

'He has improved.' Neji's teammate, Rock Lee thought. 'A genius… I'm sure I can beat that genius.'

Sasuke started walking away, only to momentarily pause and stare at the medics taking Tsurugi away. As he started walking again, he saw that the flashing board had stopped on the following names:

**Hyuga Neji – Rock Lee**

'Interesting. That at least is something I want to watch.'

* * *

"I must say, my eternal rival. Your students are quite talented! I expected much of the young Uchiha in your team, but the other one surprised me. I wonder how your final student will do."

"I'm still getting surprised." Kakashi murmured slowly, observing both Sasuke and Naruto. 'I know exactly how strong Sasuke and Sakura are, but I have no clue about Naruto…' He thought.

"You were great, Sasuke-kun!"

The person addressed sighed as he tried his best to ignore Sakura's and Ino's annoying cheers and walked straight towards Naruto, who was leaning over the railing, looking at the coming fight.

Down in the area…

"I've been waiting for this, Neji!"

"You've been waiting for a moment that has already been repeated too many times, Lee." Neji shook his head. "I'm not going to hold back."

"Me neither!" Rock Lee suddenly sat down and removed the weights on his ankles. The referee hadn't even said to start the match.

"Well, whenever you're ready." He said as he stared at Lee.

"It doesn't matter whether you remove those weights or not. The outcome is the same, Lee. You will lose against me." The Hyuga then sighed a bit tiredly. "But I know you, it doesn't really matter what I say, you're still going to fight me."

Lee looked up from the weights on the ground to see Neji had activated his Byakugan.

"Yes, Neji-kun! You'd better take me serious now!!"

The Hyuga genius easily sidestepped the attack from behind, as Lee was now fast enough to do Shunshin. "You'll get tired." Neji calmly spoke as he was dodging random attacks. "As soon as you slow down, I'll be the victor."

"Not this time!!" His teammate responded as he attacked from above.

Neji stepped back and immediately lashed out with his hands towards the spot where Lee attacked, but Lee barely managed to jump away. "That was close, Lee." He taunted.

"No it wasn't!" Lee shouted as he appeared a few feet in front of Neji. "I'm too fast for you."

Neji closed his eyes and shook his head. "For now, perhaps… I see you're also smart enough to stay out of my Hakke field."

Lee was bracing himself, Neji noticed.

"I am now going to show you… a new move!" Lee grinned as he gave Neji a thumbs up. "Be ready!" Neji's eyes widened slightly as weird Chakra surrounded Lee. "Yoshhh!!! First Gate, Second Gate Open!!"

"Hmph… Your Renge won't work on me, I can still follow and dodge your movements… Lee, You shoul-"

He got interrupted by "Third Gate, open!!"

"What?!" Involuntarily, Neji stepped backwards and observed with his Byakugan. "What is this?! You have actual Chakra around you… Third Gate? You can open more?" Lee's skin started turning red. Slightly crouching, Lee continued opening the Fourth Gate, the Harm Gate.

With that, Lee rushed forward, but Neji immediately responded with "Kaiten!!" As he stopped spinning, he noticed he had slightly knocked Lee backwards. 'I can't follow his movements, I have to be completely defensive now.' He snarled, he didn't like this at all.

"K-Kaiten!!" Neji had to respond instantly as Lee vanished from his view again. Again the clash ended in Lee getting blown backwards, without taking much damage. As Neji stopped his Heavenly Spin, he had to start it up immediately again as Lee chose to attack more aggressively now.

"You can't keep that forever, Neji-kun!!"

"And you can't keep staying this fast forever!!" He responded. "This will just be a match of who gets tired faster!" Neji shouted as Lee jumped back. "Seeing that your technique takes much more of your stamina than mine does from mine… This all seems rather futile."

"I'll change that now!! F-Fourth Gate!!" He gritted his teeth and something even seemed to be hurting him, but… he continued. "Fifth Gate, release!!"

This time, before he even could start his Kaiten, he was kicked upwards. Neji screamed in pain as Lee's bandages started wrapping all around him. "I'll show you my final Technique!!" Lee roared as he was hovering above Neji.

The Hyuga tried to move but couldn't because Neji was holding the bandage real tight. 'Shit…'

And then, it came… Neji was desperate, so with all his might, when Lee winced in pain for a second, he shot Chakra out of his Opening Points and blasted the bandages around him away. His eyes widened as Lee was back on the move again, so…

"Kaiten!!"

"Ura Renge!!!"

The blast in mid-air was huge…

All on-watchers stayed quiet as both Genin were launched to opposite sides of the arena. Experts knew that once a Hyuga was in his or her Heavenly Spin, he or she wouldn't get harmed easily. But with an attack this great, the Extreme Lotus, no one was too sure.

And for Lee, who had five of eight of the Inner Celestial Gates opened, he was already in much pain, so that added to taking the Kaiten directly, had to hurt like hell…

"Holy shit!!" Naruto shouted. "That attack is dangerous!"

'No kidding…' Sasuke agreed as he stood next to the blonde.

"Lee-san…" Sakura let out, being quite amazed.

"Both contestants are unconscious!" Gekkou announced as he had both of them checked. "There is no winner for this match!"

And then the crowd fell silent as Lee slowly rose to his feet, panting heavily. "I... I'm not done yet! I can still go on!"

'Whoa... this kid is too much.' Hayate thought as he saw that the kid was still conscious after that massive blow. "Seeing as your opponent..." Hyuga Neji was definitely out cold. "IS unconscious, you are the winner, Rock Lee!"

Lee's eyes widened as he stared at Neji's unmoving body. "Guh-guh... N-Neji?"

'Lee… You were amazing…' Lee's instructor, Gai was smiling. "Yoshaaaa!! You were great, Lee!!!"

"Gai-sensei!!"

At that moment, Lee fell to the ground, unable to move any further because of the usage of the Celestial Gates. Gai was there to pick him up and bring him to medic Shinobi.

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi watched the flashing board come to a halt on the names:

**Kinuta Dosu – Sabaku no Kankurou**

The two contestants walked down the stairs, both feeling mighty confident.

"You did good." Kakashi let out, at Sasuke and Naruto, before he turned to Sakura. "I'm sure you'll impress me too, Sakura." The Jounin then grabbed a small orange book out of a small pocket of his Jounin vest. "So, anything peculiar happen in the Forest of Death?"

The elite Jounin already knew Orochimaru was there during the second test. He had also heard from Anko that as she was chasing after Orochimaru and that she had come across Naruto, alone.

"Not really"

"Nothing interesting."

Both Naruto and Sasuke replied. Sakura snorted. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Oh? You have something to say, Sakura?" Kakashi, amused, responded.

"Well… We fought that guy from the Sound, that's now fighting the Sand Ninja down there." She said as she pointed to the fighting area. "That guy… He's good."

Meanwhile, to Gekkou's left and right…

"I can hear your every move, puppeteer." Dosu, the Sound-nin with bandages and only one eye revealed, started. "Don't think your petty tricks will work on me."

"Tcheh. Don't talk so big, bandage guy." Kankurou chuckled. "Let's see what you can do."

Dosu suddenly blasted his metallic arm into the ground and performed a handseal with his other hand. "Oton, Shinnyuu!"

"W-what?!" Kankurou started trembling uncontrollably and then… sound of wood creaking could be heard through the small arena. "Shit!" On Kankurou's back, the bag he was carrying exploded to reveal another Kankurou. This was obviously the real Kankurou and as he jumped back, the trembling Kankurou also jumped back, at the same time transforming into a puppet, attached the Chakra Strings coming from the real Kankurou's fingertips.

"What did you do?" The Sand Shinobi demanded. He didn't like not knowing anything.

"Ah, this arm…" Dosu chuckled shortly as he touched his metallic arm with his hand. "It grants me control over sound. I can attack anything with sound and… as sound is vibrations, I can break that puppet of yours easily."

"Hn! Try that again, then!" Kankurou yelled as he jumped up and moved his fingers. Dosu narrowed his eyes as Kankurou's puppet extended its arms. Its hands popped off to reveal… dozens of sharp arrows being launched towards him.

Snarling, Dosu moved to dodge.

'He's fast.' The puppeteer observed as he landed on the ground. 'It won't be easy to corner him, but… I'll manage.' Moving his fingers again, this time, smoke bombs were thrown at Dosu's position.

"Smoke?" came Dosu's voice. "I'm sure I told you already, I am a master of sound. I have no need to see."

Kankurou gritted his teeth as Dosu was suddenly behind him. As quick as he could, he moved his puppet, Karasu, in between him and his opponent. He was in time, but he didn't like Dosu laughing. "It's over, Suna Shinobi."

Kankurou jumped back a few feet and prepared himself. "What are you talking about, idiot? You haven't even hi-" And then he dropped to his knees, while at the same time, Karasu fell apart. Dosu was used to the sight, so he didn't react as all the other people observing the match did. They responded with surprise, as Kankurou started vomiting on the ground.

"My sound has reached your ears, Sabaku no Kankurou. It has also made your puppet useless." He slowly started walking towards Kankurou. He stopped, as he heard Kankurou moving. Thanks to his great hearing, Dosu managed to dodge to sudden attack from Kankurou's puppet, this time its head, deployed with a long sword.

"Interesting." Dosu mumbled as he jumped around the puppet's attacks, as all its limbs, also with blades attached, started attacking him. "Even when completely fallen apart, you can still control the pieces. A great puppeteer indeed, but…"

Slaloming around all the puppet's limbs, Dosu got close to Kankurou and grabbed him by the neck. "Oton, Shinnyuu!"

Behind the Oto-nin, the puppet, all of it, fell to the ground as Kankurou lost consciousness. "You were a… worthy opponent."

"Winner, Kinuta Dosu!" Hayate Gekkou announced.

Above, on the waiting balcony. "I can't believe he lost…" Temari let out, a bit shocked. "he lost against another Genin."

"His opponent was good." Gaara responded, making their instructor, Baki, who was standing behind them, turn his head towards the red-haired Jinchuuriki.

'Gaara seems different.'

* * *

**  
Sabaku no Temari – Abumi Zaku**

"… Good Luck."

Temari's eyes widened and she rapidly turned around to see if she had heard it right. Gaara wasn't looking at her, she found, as he was staring at the ground with a frown on his face. She turned around and prepared herself.

"Thank you, Gaara."

With that, she jumped down to the fighting area and faced her opponent. Baki, meanwhile, was staring at Gaara with his mouth open. 'What? Did… did Gaara just say that?!'

Down below, Temari landed in front of her opponent.

"A chick, huh? Don't worry, girl, I'll go easy on ya." Zaku nodded once at the girl with a grin on his face.

"You're allowed to start the match." The referee coughed once, wincing at the glare on Temari's face.

"Zankuuha!!"

Temari jumped out of the way and observed the blast that hit the wall behind her. "Wind blast?"

"That's about right, yeah! I use so much sound, it's practically wind!" The Sound Genin let his arms hang by his sides. "You afraid now?"

The blonde Sand Ninja simply smiled at her opponent and began a taunt. "Is that the best you've got, weakling? A weak little breeze like that won't even scratch me."

She watched him shook his head with a forced smile. "Alright, bitch, how about this?!" He aimed both his hand palms at Temari. "There's no escape for this one!! Zankuukyokuha!!"

With all his strength, Zaku unleashed a massive wind blast at Temari. But Temari simply grabbed the fan strapped on her back and whispered "Kamaikeisuuki!" and swung her fan at the coming blast.

Zaku's eyes widened in alarm as his own Wind Blast was now coming straight back at him. 'Oh crap…' And he was slammed into the wall behind him with great force. Temari's counter attack knocked him out. "Tch, that was easy. Using wind against me was a really stupid thing to do."

"Winner, Sabaku no Temari!"

* * *

**  
Aburame Shino – Akimichi Chouji**

"Oy, oy… You gonna be ok, Chouji?"

Laughing nervously, the Akimichi gave his teammate one pat on the shoulder, his other hand still occupied with holding a bag of chips. "I'm just glad I'm fighting someone I know… somewhat."

"Chouji… Shino's strong." Shikamaru warned.

"Everyone's strong in this exam." Asuma, their Jounin instructor fell in between. "But I'm sure Chouji will do his best to win, right?"

"Of course! There's a barbeque waiting for me after all of this, after all!" He repeated Asuma's earlier promise.

Chouji jumped down to the fighting area and stood face to face with the young Aburame.

"Well, then… Start the match."

With the referee's words, Chouji immediately jumped towards Shino and yelled "Baika no Jutsu!", transformed in mid-air and followed up with "Nikudan Sensha!"

Shino watched as Chouji's body, now grown in size, came barreling towards him. Smiling behind his high collar, he let Chouji collide with his own person. The result was Chouji smashing through Shino, revealing Shino to be hundreds of bugs.

Deactivating the Meat Tank Technique, Chouji was now looking for the real Shino. The hundreds of bugs slowly reformed into Shino again.

"Taijutsu is what you mostly use, right, Chouji-san?" The bug user questioned. "Then, I should inform you, physical attacks deal little to no damage to an Aburame, as our bodies are... different from the usual norm."

"So you're the real Shino after all?"

"As we speak my bugs are already surrounding you… I should tell you, my bugs are special, they eat Chakra. As soon as they are upon you, this match will be over."

Chouji grinned as he watched all the bugs on the ground. "Well… If eating Chakra is special, I guess I am, too!" Performing a handseal, clasping both hands together, he yelled "Soshaku no Jutsu!" as he opened his mouth, all the bugs on the ground were drawn to Chouji. "Bugs are healthy! I'll eat all of them!"

"I see…" Clenching his fists once, Shino made all the bugs close to Chouji explode with Chakra. "When my bugs come too close, the Chakra they hold will be added to yours, since you will… eat… them. It seems to be a stalemate, but…" Also performing a single handseal, he said "Mushi Hanshoku!"

And then, the entire area was filled with bugs… on the ground and in the air. "Perhaps you're able to… eat… quite a few, but I don't think you'll be able to evade most." Shino spoke. "And this time… I'll be attacking your vulnerability. Because, when you use your Soshaku Jutsu, you are wide open."

It didn't take long before Chouji was knocked out.

"Winner, Aburame Shino!"

* * *

"Hey, where's that guy?"

Sakura and Sasuke threw a frown Naruto's way. "What guy?" The girl asked.

"You know… That four-eyes guy, Kabuto! I don't see him anywhere. He disappeared." He put his hand to his chin. "Weird."

The pink-haired Genin shook her head in exasperation. "He quit! Didn't you pay any attention earlier? He said he was too tired to go on!"

The blonde frowned at that. 'Too tired? He didn't look tired at all! Is he a coward?'

"Sakura, you better get down there." Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto all turned to their sensei. "Look."

On the flashboards.

**Haruno Sakura – Tsuchi Kin**

Sakura looked down and remembered the girl she had to fight from their previous encounter in the Forest of Death. 'She used Genjutsu against Sasuke-kun.'

"Are you gonna come down here, pinky?" Kin shouted. "Or are you chickening out?"

With a loud snort, Sakura jumped down and grinned at the girl. "You're the one who's going to chicken out."

Hayate Gekkou stared at both girls and nodded his head once. "Alright then, both contestants, begin!"

Instantly, Sakura felt a few things fly past her head and she immediately started preparing herself. Behind her, Kin had thrown several bells, attached to strings coming from Kin's hands. "Unlike you teammate, you do not have that Sharingan eye. You've already fallen for my Genjutsu."

Sakura chose to run forward, but as soon as she did, Kin started to multiply significantly. There were about thirty of her standing in front of her.

"Now… Which one is the real me? As soon as you show an opening I will put you down!" Kin cackled.

And then, all of a sudden, Sakura rushed forward and hit Kin straight in the face. She followed up with another hit in Kin's stomach and ended it with a Kunai to Kin's throat. "Heh, what opening?" Sakura retorted smugly.

"H-how?! You were in my Genjutsu!"

"I have excellent Chakra Control. I know exactly how to disrupt my own Chakra Flow. Your Genjutsu was just too weak." Sakura's grin grew a bit. "Now, forfeit!"

"Never!" As soon as Kin started struggling, Sakura delivered a blow with the blunt end of the Kunai to the back of Kin's head, knocking her out.

A cough interrupted the sudden silence.

"Winner, Haruno Sakura!"

* * *

**  
Inuzuka Kiba – Yamanaka Ino**

"Alright, Akamaru! Looks like we lucked out! We're fighting a former classmate! We already know all about her, huh?"

Kurenai, Kiba's Jounin Sensei, narrowed her eyes at the smug grin on the face of Kiba's opponent. "Never underestimate your opponent, Kiba."

"You've gotta be kidding me, sensei!" Kiba hollered over his shoulder as he jumped down to face Ino, who was already down there. "Ready to lose, Ino? You should know you stand no chance against me! I ranked close to your precious Sasuke-kun, after all!"

"You? Close to Sasuke-kun?" The blonde female burst out laughing, loudly, much to Kiba's chagrin. "Not even close! Just for making that absurd comparison, I'm going to show you who's closer to Sasuke-kun between you and me!"

"H-Hey! It's not like I want to be close to that bastard!" The dog-like boy immediately yelled back. "Damn it! You're gonna pay for even thinking that!" Kiba then rushed forward, while Akamaru had jumped off of his head and stayed behind.

As he saw Ino's handsign held in front of her person, Kiba immediately jumped over Ino and landed behind her. "I know that Jutsu of yours! You gotta hit something that's not moving, right? Well, guess what?! I ain't standing still!!"

Ino winced in pain as Kiba shoulder bashed Ino to the ground.

The Inuzuka towered above the girl and his teeth were shown through his grin. "You'd better stay on the ground, if you don't want to get hurt more!"

At that moment, Ino threw a bag in Kiba's face that exploded.

But it wasn't an explosion that could hurt someone. Kiba fell on his butt and screamed as he held out his nose. "What the hell is that smell?! Argh!!" Kiba was furiously rubbing his nose, as his was a lot more sensitive to smells that the average nose.

"Ninja tools, Kiba." Ino snickered as she was now the one towering above Kiba. "That smell belongs to a certain flower that can paralyze certain parts of your body. The smell itself, yeah, is pretty horrible. I wouldn't want to use it as perfume." She chuckled as she put her right hand on her hip and gloated.

"Akamaru!! Attack her!"

The dog was already on the move, but as soon as it came close, it fell on the ground close to Kiba. Ino chuckled as she held her hands in front of her and aimed them at Kiba. "I've made the flower into powder and its currently floating all around me. Like you, Akamaru is now affected by the paralysis effect, making your legs unable to move… It usually doesn't work that well, but... I was lucky when you were my opponent, Kiba, since your sense of scent is that much more advanced than that of the average Shinobi. Now…" Her grin grew even further. "Shintenshin no Jutsu!!"

Gekkou expectantly looked at Kiba, who pointed his arm to the ceiling of the arena they were in. "Referee, I forfeit!"

"I see." Gekkou nodded. "Winner, Yamanaka Ino!"

* * *

"Whoa, she fights really, really dirty." Came the comment from Naruto. "I didn't know you could use flowers like that. Heh, who'd have thought?"

"Kiba is just a moron. Only morons would fall for such cheap tricks."

"…" Sakura didn't respond to either Naruto or Sasuke. She was surprised how easily her rival, Ino, had defeated Kiba, one of the stronger people in their class.

"The last match, huh?" Naruto grinned. "I hope it'll be good."

**Hyuga Hinata – Nara Shikamaru**

'Hyuga Hinata… Like any Hyuga, she obviously has the Byakugan.' The young Nara thought as she stood in front of the unconfident girl. 'Looks like I'll be the one attacking first.'

"You can start the match." Came Gekkou's voice, again.

'The Byakugan can see all around.' Shikamaru knew. 'Let's see how fast she is, then.' Dropping to his knees, Shikamaru performed the "Kage Mane no Jutsu!"

Hinata activated her Byakugan and ran straight for Shikamaru, easily avoiding getting caught by the Nara's Shadow. 'Heh! She doesn't even have to pay attention to dodge it!' Shikamaru grinned a false grin and jumped away from Hinata, throwing a few Kunai at her that were easily dodged as well.

As the explosion tags went off, Shikamaru knew Hinata had easily jumped away from the blasts. 'To beat me, she needs to come close. Any blow coming from that Jyuuken Style could very well spell the end of the match.'

Hinata had jumped back and waited for the smoke from the explosions to clear, even though she could easily look through it and knew where Shikamaru was. 'I… I can't be caught by those shadows. When he catches me, it's over.'

'Seems like this is a one-move battle.' Shikamaru thought.

And then, Hinata had decided. She ran towards Shikamaru, who was quite surprised at the sudden vigor showing in Hinata's character. 'Looks like she has decided she wants to continue this Chuunin Exam, after all.'

Hinata was easily side-stepping and jumping over Shikamaru's shadows and came closer and closer, while Shikamaru was trying to maintain certain distance by jumping away from the Hyuga girl. Just as Hinata came close, Shikamaru jumped over her and casually threw a Kunai over his shoulder.

This time, though, there wasn't an explosion tag attached to it, nor a smoke tag.

No, worse… a flashbang tag.

Hinata was too late in noticing and hadn't shut her eyes in time. A second later she found she couldn't move. "Kage Mane, success!" Hinata felt her own hand grab a Kunai in her Kunai holster and watched how it was held against her neck. "Man, was I lucky you didn't notice the flash tag, eh? This could've gotten really troublesome because I only had that one."

He turned to the referee, sighed, and turned back to Hinata. "Sorry, Hinata. Looks like you'll have to forfeit…"

"I… I…" Hinata couldn't move her body at all. "Yes… I give up."

* * *

All the Genin that were still conscious were still in the arena where the Second Test had ended. The Third Hokage was standing in front of them, along with all the Jounin Instructors of the Genin present.

"Congratulations, Genin! The Third and final Test of the Chuunin Exam will be a short… tournament of sorts. Similar to this preliminary Exam, you will have to fight one another once more, this time moving up against another opponent who has also won his or her match. In the end, there will only be one left."

"So, that one will be promoted to Chuunin?" Naruto asked instantly.

"Perhaps." The Sandaime grinned at the blonde. "Even a Genin who has lost the first match can, if shown adequate skills, become Chuunin."

The old man went on about how each remaining participant would receive a number from the box one Mitarashi Anko was holding. That number would decide who would fight who in the next month.

The Third Test Match ups were:

--

Haruno Sakura – Nara Shikamaru  
Yamanaka Ino – Aburame Shino  
Kinuta Dosu – Sabaku no Temari  
Uzumaki Naruto – Uchiha Sasuke  
Sabaku no Gaara - Rock Lee

--

Naruto and Sasuke were grinning at each other. "This is going to be awesome!" The blonde cheered.

"Yeah…" Sasuke agreed. "But definitely not for you."

Sakura just stared at them as they bickered endlessly. 'Sasuke versus Naruto?! Why are teammates chosen to fight against each other?!'

"Man… I gotta fight ANOTHER girl?" Shikamaru nagged as he walked away. "Why me?"

All others pondered over their fights as they all left.

"Naruto!"

The blonde, who was walking away with Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi, turned around to see that the Third Hokage had called for his attention.

"You and I need to talk."

---

TBC

Man…. I know, I rushed a few of the fights… I could've made a few of them a lot bigger, but… I also could've just skipped them like it usually happens in most fics. These fights, however, I've never seen, but want to see, and I pictured them to be ending up like this, somehow.

Kiba might easily have won against Ino, but… I like that blonde chick. I have nothing against Kiba, at all, by the way. And about Hinata, yeah she was very, very different in her Chuunin Canon fight, but I think that's because she was up against Neji. So, I think this is pretty In Character and realistic. I'm not a Hinata basher, I like her, but she's definitely not ready to become Chuunin at this point… right?

But man! Sasuke versus Naruto up next! Hahahahaha, who the hell will win that?! Uhhh, let's think long and hard about that one… I think those other match ups will be interesting too, especially the Gaara vs. Rock Lee one, since Gaara does not have the Shukaku as his back-up and no automatic shield anymore… He'll have to work for his victory this time around.

Btw, I kinda have big plans for a few characters that died in Canon…

The Tournament has an unfortunate number of participants left, but I have an idea for that already. No, it's not going to be a battle royale.

Well, hope you enjoyed!!

Oh, wait! I forgot about this in the previous Chapter too! New Jutsu!!

**Previous Chapters:**

_Kenpou: Fuuin Jikken: Eye Seal Technique._  
This Technique has subtechniques... Will be further explained in coming chapters...

_Ninpou: Fuuton, Gufuu Suheidou: Wind Style: Horizontal Tornado Release_

**This Chapter:**

_Ninpou: Fuuton, Hotofuki Togi: Wind Style: Sharpened Gust_  
A Wind-Natured Pinpoint attack, focused at one point.

_Ninpou: Fuuton, Kuuatsu: Wind Style: Air Pressure_  
A ravishing wind blast that pushes you down or up.

_Ninpou: Fuuton, Ni Kuuatsu: Wind Style: Double Air Pressure_  
See above

_Ninpou: Oton, Shinnyuu: Sound Style: Sound Penetration_  
I've chosen to name Dosu's Technique like so... The one where he uses his metallic arm for.

_Kamaikeisuuki: Fan Counter_  
I'm sure Temari's fan has more uses than only offensive... This one is defensive and ultimately, offensive as well. Her fan can pick up wind and throw them back. Easy as pie...

_Soshaku no Jutsu: Assimilation Technique._  
I've chosen to name Chouji's Technique like so... The one where he eats anything and converts it to Chakra.

_Mushi Hanshoku: Bug Multiplicity Release._  
I'm sure Shino can use his Chakra to increase the breeding of his bugs in his body when it's important, like during battle.

Oops, I made a mistake! It's fixed now!

Again, Many thanks for reading!


	9. Rival Settlement

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: I've decided not to describe the Chuunin Exam matches, except for the Naruto – Sasuke one…

**SCENE BREAK**

**SCENE BREAK - SCENE BREAK _ SCENE BREAK / SCENE BREAK \ SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK**

**SCENE BREAK**

The second test of the Chuunin Exam had finally ended. They had actually made it through and were ready for the final test, which would come in two weeks. At the moment, Naruto, along with Kakashi, was following the Third Hokage to his office. They were slowly walking through the village, Hokage greeting random people and Kakashi reading a certain book.

'Man… I don't have a single clone active right now…' Naruto inwardly whined. 'Why does the old man want to talk to me? I want to train, damn it!' He took a look at the back of his sensei. 'And why did Kakashi-sensei have to come along?'

Many moments later, as the Hokage was in no rush at all, they had finally made it to the Sandaime's office.

The old man went for his seat immediately and stared at the Jounin and Genin in front of him. "Congratulations, Naruto-kun. You've made it through the second test." He started. "I, however, have something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Obviously." The blonde grumbled softly, on which Kakashi eye-smiled.

"It has come to my attention that you have encountered a certain Shinobi, during your stay in the Forest of Death." The Fire Leader started. "One Mitarashi Anko has notified me."

"Ah, that examiner woman, right?" The Genin asked. "Yeah, but we've barely fought as she made it there before I could even have a crack at him." He lied, pretending to be frowning and acting disappointed. "That guy seemed pretty strong, too."

"Guy? What did he look like?"

"Pfff… He reminded me of a snake, with the way he talked and moved." He suddenly snapped his finger once. "That Anko chick! You once said there two women who could teach me how to deal with Genjutsu, right? Isn't she one of them?"

The Sandaime sighed, slightly frowning at Naruto's way of changing subjects. "Yes, she is, but unfortunately, she has a busy schedule. Now, what else can you tell from your experiences in the Forest of Death?"

"Uhm… Why are you asking me, old man? All I did was run after my teammates. Are you asking these questions to every Genin?"

The aging man shook his head. "No, you're the only one who has encountered Orochimaru, besides Anko."

Naruto refused to let his eyes narrow in fury at the mention of the snake who escaped from him. "Who's Orochimaru?"

"He is a former Konoha Shinobi, one of the Legendary Sannin, to be exact. Quite powerful. He is also a former student of mine. He has betrayed Konoha and has probably infiltrated our Village and the Chuunin Exams to do damage to us. If he has told you anything… It would be helpful if you told us."

Naruto tilted his head to the side and pretended to think back a few days. "No… All he did say was that he did not have time to deal with a Genin like me."

"… I see." A sigh indicated that subject was over with. "Kakashi told me something interesting. You can create a clone that only the Sharingan can see?"

Naruto pursed his lips together and shot his sensei a dirty look. "You snitch!" He pointed, before he turned back to the Hokage. "Yeah, I call it the Fuuin Bunshin. But I've found out not only the Sharingan can see it. Or…" He looked up thoughtfully. "Maybe it's the only thing that can **see**… it."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi questioned.

"I found out that mutt Kiba can smell 'm. And Hyuga Hinata… she could see the Chakra for the Jutsu, but not the Bunshin itself. And Shino… His bugs could apparently sense me… somehow."

"It makes sense. Their team is specialized in tracking. Looking and identifying Chakra is what they do best. They only get better as they grow more experienced." The Third explained. "But that means you have used the Fuuin Bunshin during your Chuunin Exam? A very clever thing to do, Naruto-kun."

"Let me guess…" Kakashi started. "When you had to fight that guy in the Preliminary Test, you already knew his ability?"

"Heh, you can see right through me!" He said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well… that is all. You are dismissed, Naruto-kun." The Third nodded his head once and Naruto instantly jumped for the window.

"Alright, thanks for the chat, old guys! Seeya!" And he jumped down below.

'Old… guys?' Kakashi repeated in his head.

"Who would have thought?" The Copy-nin was still looking at the window Naruto jumped through when he heard the Third chuckle. "He's using your famous Jutsu, Jiraiya."

"Heh, exactly. He's getting really good now…" Jiraiya materialized out of thin air, next to the Third. Kakashi hadn't even sensed him. "I think he'll get the more advanced one, eventually, too. Too bad the Sharingan will always be able to see it."

"But Naruto calls it the Fuuin Bunshin… What was it you called it again?" The Third couldn't help but grin at his student.

"Tcheh! I proudly call it the Touton no Jutsu!" The Toad Hermit folded his arms proudly.

"Ah yes… The Peeking Technique…"

**Aerial Perspective**  
_Chapter 8: Rival Settlement_

As soon as Naruto landed on the ground, in front of the entrance of the Hokage Tower, he found himself face to face with the team of the Sand.

"Uzumaki Naruto…" The Jinchuuriki of Suna started as he walked towards the blonde, with eyes narrowed. "I… I've come…" He seemed hesitant. "We need to talk, in private. There are things you don't know."

Temari and Kankurou were both looking unsure but knew what their little brother wanted to tell the blonde. As his siblings, the two loved Gaara, and thus they were quite thankful to Naruto. If Gaara wanted to say something… anything… to Naruto, they would support him.

No matter what the cost.

"In private?" Naruto could tell from Gaara's expression that they were being watched. 'Someone from Suna is watching them? Or someone from Konoha?'

"I understand." Putting his left hand on Gaara's shoulder, he performed a single seal with his other. "Hiraishin!"

Temari and Kankurou both looked stupefied as the two Jinchuuriki had vanished…

"That kid… He's not normal." Kankurou let out. "I wonder where he took Gaara."

"Kankurou… I… I trust him." Her brother's stupefied look grew in its intensity. "I don't know how or why… but I trust Uzumaki Naruto completely."

The Puppeteer sighed as he looked at his sister. "I don't blame you."

**SCENE BREAK - SCENE BREAK _ SCENE BREAK / SCENE BREAK \ SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK**

"Where are we?"

"We are in the Wave Country."

"The… Wave? Where?" Gaara seemed a bit ill, due to the sudden movement from the Hiraishin. He stumbled on his feet and managed to take two steps forward. 'I am a lot weaker, without the Shukaku. I will need to train my body…'

"The Wave Country lies close to the edge of Fire Country."

Realizing they were several, no, many miles away from their previous location, he looked dumbfounded at Naruto. "You can… move around this fast?"

"It needs certain requirements for it to work, but…yeah." The blonde gave the red a thumbs up. "But we can talk here. No one's here…" The two were in the forest Naruto had trained during his first great mission, where he had to fight against Haku and Zabuza.

The Kazekage's son took a wary look around him, before he nodded his head and turned to Naruto. "Uzumaki Naruto… Our Kazekage, my father…" He started, but he was having trouble in speaking about it, it seemed. "he will, he will attack your leader, during the final test of the Chuunin Exam." He leaned against a tree behind him. "Alongside Oto, the Sound Village, our Village will try and destroy Konoha."

Naruto didn't respond, he was petrified by Gaara.

"I am telling you this, because… I am in your debt. I do not want to destroy Konoha anymore. You have taken away a great pain… a pain that never seemed to end." He paused shortly. "You should know, that as a Jinchuuriki, we have control over great powers. I can release the Shukaku completely. This has changed since you've used the Gogyou Fuuin on me. I can not release the Shukaku now. Even if I could, I wouldn't. Only my siblings know this… The plan to take over Konoha lies mainly on my shoulders. Without their trump card, the Shukaku… Konoha will survive this."

Naruto chose to sit on the ground.

"You said you wanted me to be your ally. If our Villages are enemies, it would be hard for us to be allies. I wish to fight on your side. I care not for my father."

"And your brother and sister?"

"They… will support me, as they have said."

The blonde slowly nodded his head. "Can't you talk to your father?"

"That is an impossibility. I have never talked to my father before." Naruto watched Gaara glare at the ground. "Since I can remember, my father, the Kazekage, has ordered assassinations on me. Since I have the Shukaku sealed inside me, I was to be Suna's weapon. But being Shukaku's Jinchuuriki, meant certain… changes. I was… unstable. I became uncontrollable to my father, so he saw it fit to see me dead."

"Your father…?"

"Yes. I have no love for my father as he does not hold any for me. I believe my siblings feel the same way…"

The two fell in a short silence, one thinking of the past, while the other thought about how to prevent all of it. A few minutes later… "So… there's actually nothing we can do but let them believe you are still in contact with Shukaku?"

"Correct." Gaara responded shortly. "The attack will begin during one of the matches. So, be wary of all Sound and Sand Shinobi."

Naruto narrowed his eyes… 'Maybe… I know one Sound Shinobi who I can talk to…'

**SCENE BREAK - SCENE BREAK _ SCENE BREAK / SCENE BREAK \ SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK**

As soon as he had returned Gaara to Temari and Kankurou, Naruto entered his apartment and quickly went into Sage Mode. During Sage Mode, he could find all Chakra Sources in the Village. Perhaps he would be able to pinpoint a certain Kinuta Dosu…

'This has all gone to hell fast… I should tell the old man all about this… But that would mean for him to find out I've used the Gogyou Fuuin on Gaara.' The blonde snarled as he was searching and searching. 'Will that be a bad thing?'

Opening his eyes, he found the three Sound Genin close to the Forest of Death, with another Chakra Source that seemed pretty… familiar. He quickly made his way over to the location, making sure to deactivate his Sage Mode, before someone saw him.

Even without being in Sage Mode, Naruto was still very fast. Jumping from tree to tree, with a random home in between, Naruto soon found himself overlooking four Genin…

'What is Yakushi Kabuto doing talking to Sound Genin?' Creating the seal for several Fuuin Bunshin, they all instantly knew what to do and approached the four.

"He's not pleased at all…" The Fuuin Bunshin heard them say. "But you'll find out for yourself. He can't wait to see you. Oh, Dosu, since you're still in the Chuunin Exams, you won't have to come with us. Run along now…" The glasses-wearing Konoha Genin said.

Naruto didn't understand at all. Creating a quick Fuuin Bunshin and dispelling it, the Fuuin Bunshin now had new orders; follow Kabuto and those two Sound Genin. As soon as Kabuto and the others were well out of reach and Dosu was already walking through the streets of the Village, Naruto appeared behind him.

"Uzumaki Naruto, right?" The Bandage-wearing Ninja turned around. The Konoha Genin nodded his head, a serious look telling Dosu something was very wrong. He chose to stay silent. Picking a fight with Naruto right now was a lose-lose situation, especially since this was Konoha.

Naruto didn't say anything, he instead put his hand on Dosu's shoulder and gave him a sad smile, his other hand meanwhile coming up in a handseal. "Hiraishin…"

**SCENE BREAK - SCENE BREAK _ SCENE BREAK / SCENE BREAK \ SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK**

Quite a busy day, Naruto thought as he was slowly walking towards the Hokage Tower, this time to say a few words to a certain old man.

'This Chuunin Exam is going to be horrible. I have to fight Sasuke and of course, kick his ass… But I have to do that and save most of my energy for the attack that is sure to come.' The talk with Dosu had only confirmed everything.

His Fuuin Bunshin had revealed that Kabuto was a traitor working for Orochimaru and that two Sound Genin were now dead, courtesy to the same guy Kabuto was working for. He had watched it all, but couldn't do anything. His Fuuin Bunshin were only meant to watch, after all.

But he had learned a lot in only a short night.

But he had nothing to back it up with.

Would the Third believe him?

Walking the stairs, he saw many Jounin and Chuunin pass him by. All of them had their missions. All of them were working for the Fire Country, for Konoha, for the Hokage. None of them knew of what was to come. He was just a Genin, how was he supposed to deal with all this?

Already he had done what he thought was best, but… what would the old Sarutobi do?

He finally reached the doors that would lead him to the Hokage. In front of that door stood two Jounin. He didn't know their names. One wore glasses and had black hair, while the other had long light brown hair, and had a senbon in his mouth.

"Ah, Hokage-sama is busy right now, kid." Genma, the one with the needle in his mouth said. "You should know you can't just walk in at a time like this. Besides, shouldn't you be sleeping?"

True to his words, during nighttime, the Hokage usually only saw people who had made appointments with him during the day, or days prior. The secretary usually present during the day wasn't here, either. So these two Jounin were guarding the door.

To their and Naruto's surprise though, Jiraiya suddenly opened the door and walked past Genma and Aoba, the one with the glasses and the dark hair. "Yo, kid! Long time no see!" He nodded once to Genma and Aoba and grabbed Naruto by the shoulder. "You need to see the old man? He's really busy right now."

"Jiraiya-sama…" Naruto started. "I've found out about something… something really bad. I need to tell him!" He wanted to turn away from Jiraiya, but Jiraiya still held him.

"Not right now you do. If it's really important, though, you can tell me. I'm allowed to see that old man anytime I want, you see?"

Naruto released an annoyed sigh and took a look over his shoulder to see Genma and Aoba talking to each other, still guarding the door. "So I can't get in today?"

Jiraiya was leading him away. "No, you can't. He's busy finding out why that guy you came across in the Forest of Death is here."

Naruto's eyes widened and he turned to Jiraiya. "Yeah, I found something out about that guy!"

Jiraiya nodded his head. "We'll talk somewhere else."

In truth, the Third Hokage was busy with Mitarashi Anko's Curse Seal. She had also come across Orochimaru.

**SCENE BREAK - SCENE BREAK _ SCENE BREAK / SCENE BREAK \ SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK**

Days passed and the final test of the Chuunin Exam was coming close.

Sasuke was being trained by Kakashi. Naruto was being trained by Jiraiya and was also training in secret. Sakura was actually training with one Yamanaka Ino. Aburame Shino and Nara Shikamaru were being trained by their fathers.

Gaara was also training, mostly by himself, but at times found himself sparring against his siblings.

And Rock Lee… was training fulltime with his sensei Maito Gai.

The remaining participant, Kinuta Dosu, was also training, but he found most of his time spent on figuring things out…

Two days before the Chuunin Exams, Naruto could be found in the Hokage's Office, along with Jiraiya.

"This office is protected by several Fuuinjutsu…"

Naruto had already noticed.

The Third continued. "Anything said here will only be heard by the ones actually in this room."

Jiraiya and Naruto both nodded their heads.

"Naruto-kun… Going by your information gathering, I have tightened security around Konoha and around me… considerably. I can't do anything more than that. Doing so would raise suspicions and if we want to ambush an ambush, we need no such suspicions."

Naruto nodded his head as Jiraiya watched him.

"As for you, you will simply continue the Chuunin Exams. I assure you, I have competent Shinobi all around. You are still just a Genin, Naruto-kun. Perhaps a very talented one, but… This will be dangerous from here on in."

**SCENE BREAK - SCENE BREAK _ SCENE BREAK / SCENE BREAK \ SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK**

Her two teammates had to fight each other to continue. Only the victor would go on. The other would be devastated.

Sakura didn't know what to do or say to them.

She was rooting for Sasuke-kun, of course. He was the boy she loved, after all. But that would mean Naruto was definitely going to lose.

Anyone would lose against Sasuke-kun, after all.

But then, how would her blonde teammate take that loss? His dream was to become the next Hokage, right? A Hokage never loses any fight, the ultimate Shinobi of his or her country. He would be crushed if he lost this battle.

It was a real shame he was paired against Uchiha Sasuke. Yes, Sakura was sure… Naruto had grown a lot, but this is where the Chuunin Exams would end for the blonde.

Sakura stared at the person in front of her as she thought about her teammates. She herself was training hard against her rival, Yamanaka Ino. Her opponent would be Nara Shikamaru, a person who could control the shadows. Ino was his teammate, but Sakura already found out she wouldn't reveal too much about him.

It would be unfair.

The Kage Mane no Jutsu was a technique that could go from one point to many points. It was a perfect trapping Technique. To escape from such a Jutsu, means you need speed and complete awareness of her surroundings. Once caught, it could be over. Could being the keyword.

Once the Kage Mane is a success, what could be done? That was what Sakura was focusing on…

**SCENE BREAK - SCENE BREAK _ SCENE BREAK / SCENE BREAK \ SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK**

The day of the Final Exam…

He would have had Fuuin Bunshin all around Fire Country, if it wasn't for the fact that the Third had said those few words… _He has competent Shinobi all around._

No, he had to save his energy. He had to go all out to protect everyone. When the time would come, he would use his advanced Kage Bunshin Strategy… But then, if what he and Gaara had discussed would work, it might not even be necessary.

"Naruto! You deaf idiot!"

Shaking away from his thought, Naruto turned to see Team 8 walking towards the same destination he was.

'Only Shino is in the Chuunin Exams from their team.' He then looked up thoughtfully, as if suddenly realizing something. 'Everyone from Team 7 passed, huh?' He then nodded at the team in front of him. "Hey."

"You really need to work on your hearing, man." Kiba started. "I never expected you to get this far in the Chuunin Exams."

Naruto nodded his head and shot a quick glance at team 8's sensei, Kurenai. 'The old man still hasn't arranged anything for me considering Genjutsu, and Kurenai-sensei doesn't want to teach me… It sucks.' Shrugging, he turned away from the team and started walking. He felt bad ignoring Kiba like that, but he felt even worse about being rejected by their Jounin Instructor. "Good luck, Shino." He managed as he walked away from them.

"Ah, to you as well, Naruto-san."

He was surprised to hear Shino so friendly, but didn't show it and continued walking.

"He's gotten arrogant, huh?" Kiba said as soon as Naruto was out of hearing range.

"Not arrogant." Shino replied as he slowly started walking. "But hurt."

Kiba didn't understand, but Kurenai did. "And angry." She added.

Hinata was the last to move. 'Naruto-kun.' The blue-haired girl sighed as she followed after her team. 'Naruto-kun's different today…'

**SCENE BREAK - SCENE BREAK _ SCENE BREAK / SCENE BREAK \ SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK**

Hayate Gekkou watched the participants enter the clearing in the centre of the stadium the final test of the Chuunin Exam was held. He had watched all of them fight before, so he knew what to expect from them. Most these Genin had already impressed him.

The entire stadium was filled with people from all around the country, waiting to see techniques flying all over the place.

Gekkou himself was waiting to see the same thing. Some of the Genin here hadn't shown a whole lot during the preliminaries.

The Sandaime had decided to share nothing he had learned the past weeks with the Shinobi under him. Only Jiraiya, Tenzou and Naruto knew, actually. Jiraiya was stationed in the stadium, Naruto was doing the Chuunin Exams and Tenzou was outside of the stadium, haven given his ANBU Squad specific orders around the stadium.

The Fire Leader also made sure every ANBU Team was active. Two ANBU Teams were stationed in the stadium, three in the forests around Konoha, and the remaining in Konoha itself.

Hiruzen took a seat, with Raidou and Genma protecting him, while next to him, the Kazekage did the same, also having two guards guarding him.

Down below, every participant was already present and the referee was already lining up the two Genin who were slated against each other to start it all off.

Haruno Sakura against Nara Shikamaru

"Sakura-chan! You can beat that lazy bastard!" Her blonde teammate yelled out to her as he and the other participants walked away from the battlefield.

He'd say he resented that remark, had he cared. But Shikamaru didn't really care for much.

As soon as Naruto reached the area where the remaining Genin still in the Chuunin Exam were to wait, he scanned his surroundings. He had found it weird to spot ANBU so in the open, but did understand why the Hokage would do so.

Gaara stood in the corner, observing the fight that had started down below. He and Naruto had decided not talk to each other, because it would raise suspicions. The same was decided with Dosu, who stood close to the railing.

Naruto wasn't completely sure about the Sound Genin, but he knew he carried his respect. Their talk was pretty interesting…

**FLASHBACK**

"_Where are we?"_

_Naruto watched as Dosu jumped back a bit and looked left and right. Judging by his confused stance, the blonde could tell he had no idea where they were. "Don't worry about where we are, Dosu-san." _

_Dosu readied himself as he stood in front of Naruto. _

"_We're not here to fight. Only to talk. Besides…" He shrugged. "I'm just a Shadow Clone. If you even touch me once, there's no way you're getting back to Konoha in time for the last test of the Chuunin Exams."_

_Dosu's one revealed eye widened. "We're that far from Konoha?" He tried to read the expressions on Naruto's face to see if the Konoha-nin was bluffing. "You… You're serious." A few seconds later, he also added. "And this is no Genjutsu either…"_

"_Dosu-san… I know Orochimaru's plans for an attack against my Village." He started, ignoring Dosu's shocked outburst and the step he had taken backwards. Instead, Naruto turned his back to Dosu. "I feel like I can trust you, Dosu. I have witnessed how… Yakushi Kabuto, if that is his real name, has killed your two teammates. Kin and Zaku, I think their names were."_

"_What? They're dead?" Dosu clenched his fists to calm himself down. "Orochimaru-sama kills everyone who has failed him. They probably failed him in something."_

"_Ah, so now you have confirmed you do work Orochimaru, and you also know Kabuto. Oto, huh?"_

"_Heh." Dosu chuckled shortly, very unsurely. "You're quite a Shinobi. So what now? You're going to leave me here?"_

"_Not really." Naruto responded, also a bit unsure. "You're a Shinobi who is expendable to Oto, or to Orochimaru. I'm not going to do anything. But…" He turned and stared Dosu straight in the eye. "I think I can trust you. When this all happens, I'm going to do anything to prevent any of my comrades getting hurt. If you stand in my way and fight with Oto and Suna… I will kill you."_

_Dosu let out a short gasp of surprise. "You even know Oto's with Suna? You know I can tell this to all to Orochimaru."_

"_Ah." Naruto confirmed with a single nod. "But I trust you."_

"_I am not going to turn traitor so easily, Uzumaki Naruto."_

"_Traitor? But you have no comrades. With no comrades, how can you be a traitor, Dosu-san?" Naruto's gentle gaze turned into a glare. "If you try to hurt the people I care about, I will not hold back anything. You are a Shinobi who can measure a person's strength, right?"_

_A short silence fell between them._

"_A Kage Bunshin like me is already strong enough to deal… easily… with you." Naruto sighed and shook his head. "The thing is… I don't want to kill you. I don't want to kill anyone." He said as he laughed humorlessly. "Think about it, Dosu-san. You might not be able to stop this, but you can surely do something else about it. Here…" _

_Dosu stared at the scroll Naruto was handing out to him. "What is that?"_

"_This scroll contains instructions on a technique. A tracking Jutsu. It also holds my Chakra. Should you feel the need, performing the Jutsu will lead you to my location. It can only work if you pour Chakra in this scroll while doing the technique." Naruto stared at Dosu with an unreadable expression. 'Thanks to that, I will also know when he's pouring Chakra into it, also leading me to HIS location. He's still Oto, part of a Country that wants to destroy Leaf… While I trust Dosu, I don't trust him completely.'_

_With a final sigh, Naruto put his hand on Dosu's shoulder. "We're going back."_

**END FLASHBACK**

"So, you scared?"

With a frown on his face at the sudden comment from behind, Naruto turned to see that Kakashi and Sasuke had appeared out of nowhere. "Whoa… I completely forgot you were still in the Chuunin Exams…" Naruto responded. 'I hadn't even noticed he wasn't here before…'

Their Jounin Instructor shook his head at their bantering, before he used Shunshin to appear close to an ANBU Member overlooking the location of the Hokage and the Kazekage.

"Whatever, dead-last." Sasuke mumbled as he stepped next to Naruto and watched the match below. After a short snort, he said "She got caught by his shadow."

"Yeah…" His blonde teammate started. "But it looks like it's not over yet."

The two members of team 7 watched as Shikamaru quickly released Sakura and stared at the pinkette with a confused look on his face.

Sakura was feeling really good about herself. The trick of the Kage Mane was to force your own Chakra onto your target's Chakra. Since the technique comes from the Nara, the Nara is in control. But, since it's Chakra that's being used, Sakura knew something could be done about it.

It was strange, but she asked Naruto, of all people, for help.

And he came with a very clever solution. The ability to completely and instantly seal her own Chakra. It's a useless skill, one that never should be used on a battlefield, since it leaves you completely vulnerable. But against the Kage Mane, which needs Chakra to function, it's perfect.

Of course, since Sakura sealed all her Chakra into a Storage Scroll, she can also summon it back again. In battle, when she is about to get caught by Shikamaru's shadow, she'd quickly seal her Chakra off into the scroll.

The only problem was that Shikamaru was in complete control of that scroll, since his Kage Mane was touching it through Sakura's body. And even without Chakra, Sakura could still move, albeit a lot more limited.

"You're seriously doing the one thing a Shinobi should never do." Shikamaru murmured lazily. "I figured you were smarter than this." Team Ten was amazed as they saw Shikamaru run towards Sakura. The young Nara rarely ran, after all. Sakura jumped backwards, slightly startled. "You obviously don't know what to do beyond this."

"Tcheh!" Sakura responded, moving her hand to her Kunai, only to see Shikamaru's shadow going to the spot where she would land.

She quickly sealed her Chakra off, only to see two Kunai approaching her fast. She ducked, but realized Shikamaru was now in front of her, holding another Kunai to her head. "It's impossible for you to do anything in this situation." The young genius started. "My Kage Mane is all around you, the moment you move against me is the moment you'll have to use Chakra to stand a chance. The moment you use Chakra is the moment you get caught by my shadow."

Seeing the truth in those words, Sakura forfeited.

**SCENE BREAK - SCENE BREAK _ SCENE BREAK / SCENE BREAK \ SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK**

Naruto observed the victor of the next battle warily. He didn't know much about the Bug User, but now knew he wasn't to be trifled with. Yamanaka Ino had a definite advantage over Shino's bugs, with her usage of poisons in her Flower techniques, something he had never even heard about.

Even so, Shino stood his ground long and well, ultimately using one of his bug's most interesting skills.

The power to evolve in a short time.

As such, the poison Ino used proved futile over time, as Shino's bugs had all become evolved. The only reason for this possibility was the fact that Shino, as a Shinobi, was too skilled for Ino. He was faster and stronger, able to avoid anything thrown at him as his bugs were analyzing the poison Ino was using.

And Ino wasn't so stupid to try and use the Shintenshin in a battle such as this, which would inevitably turn in Shino's favor.

"Good battle, Shino." Naruto nodded at the Aburame as he entered the balcony.

Shino had won as his bugs had drained Ino of all of her Chakra.

"Will the next participants please step down?" Gekkou announced in between unavoidable coughs.

"I forfeit." Dosu's cold voice, while soft, was carried all through everyone's hearing. The sound-nin and Naruto shared a short, powerful glance and Naruto still wasn't too sure on what the bandaged ninja would be doing.

His opponent, one Sabaku no Temari, shot the Sound Shinobi a confused gaze, not remembering his forfeiting was part of any plan.

Releasing a somewhat agitated sigh, he steeled himself for the next match. He rolled a bored glance Sasuke's way and grinned. "Let's get this over with, Sasuke."

"Hn."

A second later, the two were staring at one another, with Hayate Gekkou standing in between them, ready to call for the start of the match. "Well, start the match!"

Haruno Sakura, who had just been denied to go to the next round, gripped the railing tightly as she watched her two teammates have a stand-off. 'Sasuke-kun… Naruto… I hope this fight won't change anything.'

"I'm curious about this fight." Sarutobi Asuma, teacher of team 10, let out as he stood behind Nara Shikamaru and a recuperating Yamanaka Ino. The remaining member of team 10, Akimichi Chouji, was seated in the crowd, as he was no longer a participant.

"Me too." Shikamaru let out, surprising both Ino and Asuma. As far as they knew, Shikamaru was never anything close to curious… about anything.

Ino just let out a snort, though. "It's obvious Sasuke-kun is going to kick the dead-last's ass."

"Perhaps." Shikamaru shrugged. 'But I have this weird feeling.' The dark-haired Genin thought.

'Uzumaki Naruto…' Temari thought as she stared down on the fighting field. 'I hope everything is going to be alright.'

The Third Hokage looked down on the two fighters, while smoking his always present pipe. "This might be a very interesting match, Kazekage-dono."

The leader of the Sand Village shot the aging Fire leader a short glance, before turning his attention back to the coming fight. "Yes, I agree. He is the last of the Uchiha Clan, is he not? Uchiha Sasuke." The young Kage folded his arms. 'And his opponent, Uzumaki Naruto…' In disguise, Orochimaru sent a vicious glare to the blonde. 'That Jinchuuriki will get what he deserves.' The Snake Shinobi would not forget how the blonde had stood in his way in the Forest of Death.

**SCENE BREAK - SCENE BREAK _ SCENE BREAK / SCENE BREAK \ SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK**

"Well, Sasuke…" Naruto started with a grin on his face his stance indicating he was ready to go at any time. "How about we get this thing started?"

"Heh, you sure you want to start this quickly?" The Uchiha taunted. "As soon as I start moving the match will be over, after all. Your moment of fame is the short moment you can stand in front of me during this fight."

The Kyuubi vessel shook his head at him. "Bring it, Sasuke."

Gekkou Hayate's eyes widened as Sasuke launched himself towards the blonde in awesome speed. 'That's…!'

Naruto was easily keeping up, though, and sidestepped the duo roundhouse kicks and ducked under the elbow meant for his nose. Somersaulting from his seated position, he tried kicking Sasuke, but the avenger slapped the attacking foot away and jumped backwards.

As Naruto landed on his feet, Sasuke had already finished his handseals and released "Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!"

Naruto grinned and simply ran through Sasuke's attack, straight for the Uchiha. 'What?' While still performing the Jutsu, Sasuke was unable to dodge the blow Naruto gave him to the head, sending him several feet to the left.

The dark-haired boy was quick to recover and sent Naruto a hard stare. 'Why didn't my Housenka hurt him? He walked through it like it was nothing.' He clenched his fists. 'And he can keep up with my speed… Since when is the dobe so fast?'

"I'm not holding back anymore, Naruto…" Sasuke closed his eyes. "Time to end this…"

The blonde nodded his head. "As you wish, Sasuke."

The moment Sasuke activated his Sharingan, was the moment he saw about twenty of Naruto's Fuuin Bunshin spread around him. 'These clones of his can't attack me, they can only watch. What's their purpose?'

Naruto narrowed his eyes as Sasuke started performing a few handseals. And then he saw lightning Chakra around Sasuke's right hand. Acting instantly, Naruto grinned, and poured Chakra into one of the Fuuin Seals on his Shinobi outfit. The one that functions for 'Kenpou: Rengoukon; Kyuurai no Jutsu!'

Sasuke paid no heed to the Chakra around Naruto and rushed forward in even greater speed than before. And when Naruto didn't move, he didn't pause in his movements and slammed the Chidori in Naruto's gut.

Up in the stands, Kakashi's eyes were widened. 'Sasuke… The Chidori is not meant for comrades…' Though he already knew Naruto would be fine. He felt definite disappointment that Sasuke would use the Assassination Technique against Naruto. 'We're going to have a talk after this, Sasuke.'

"Whoa…" Naruto chuckled as Sasuke's fist was in his gut. "You punch like a girl."

Sasuke's dumbfounded look was rewarded with another blow to his head. As the Uchiha fell to the ground, Naruto quickly grabbed one of Sasuke's legs and threw him skyward, immediately performing handseals after. "Fuuton, Fuujin no Mae!"

The crowd winced as several wind sickles hit Sasuke's flailing body in mid-air. Until Sasuke's body changed into a small chunk of wood.

"Kawarimi." Naruto calmly murmured. "Damn, Sasuke's really good."

"How?" Sasuke screamed as he had appeared several meters in front of Naruto. "How did you stop the Chidori!"

"Oh, you're still wondering about that?" Naruto grinned as he held up a hand. "It's a secret. And the best secret is the one never told."

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke slightly bent his knees. "I'll be taking you down now, dead-last."

"Oh? I was just about to go all out now. Let's see…" Naruto's gaze hardened considerably. "Let's see you try using that Kawarimi trick again."

Sasuke was shocked, because… Those words came from behind him. There was no way for him to avoid the blow to his neck. He was in mid-air again, but this time, Naruto was following him and continued his assault with a knee attack to Sasuke's side.

Tumbling in the air, Sasuke couldn't do anything as Naruto had launched himself upwards and was now hovering above the approaching Sasuke, waiting to slam the Uchiha back to the ground. With all his might, Sasuke managed to regain control over his body and quickly finished a few handseals.

"Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Naruto sighed and let himself drop to the ground, allowing Sasuke's Fire Ball Technique to soar above him, seeing there was too little time to activate the Kyuuka Seal. "Not bad, Sasuke." The blonde genin uttered as Sasuke landed in front of him.

The slightly battered Uchiha glared hard at the completely unharmed Naruto. 'Damn this… How can he be this good all of a sudden?'

"Well, let's try that again."

And again, Naruto was behind Sasuke without him realizing it. This time, Sasuke got his legs swept from underneath him and couldn't do anything as Naruto slammed his fist in Sasuke's stomach, slamming the Uchiha hard into the ground.

The result was a small crater.

Naruto jumped backwards, allowing some distance between him and his opponent.

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"How peculiar…"

The Sandaime Hokage looked up from his observation as the Kazekage had suddenly spoken up.

"I expected more of Uchiha Sasuke, but… His opponent is clearly far above Genin Level." The Kazekage put a hand to his chin. "Don't you find it strange, Hokage-dono?"

"His opponent is Uzumaki Naruto. Konoha's most unpredictable Shinobi." Sarutobi thought that was a good explanation, but it only brought a frown on the Suna leader's face.

"Sa-Sasuke… kun?"

On the waiting balcony, present were Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Shino, Asuma, Dosu, Gaara, Temari and Rock Lee.

"Naruto-kun!" Lee suddenly shouted to no one in particular as he stood next to the shocked Sakura. "Your teammates are very talented, Sakura-san!"

"Sa… Sasuke-kun?" Was the only thing Sakura managed to stutter, once again. During the match so far, Naruto was completely dominating it. Sasuke was fast and used powerful Techniques, but they… they did nothing at all to Naruto. Nothing at all.

"What the hell happened to Naruto, Sakura?" One Nara said as he stood to Sakura's other side, all of a sudden.

Ino shot her head so quick to Shikamaru, she almost snapped her neck. 'Since when does Shikamaru curse and care?' But she wanted to know the answer to that question, too. Naruto was moving like a very, very talented Shinobi.

"His Shunshin is insane… Even if he has that Sharingan eye, he still can't keep up with Naruto." Shikamaru continued. "And I'm not really sure if you're seeing this, since you're biased because your precious Sasuke's fighting, but… That Naruto, he's not really trying."

It was true… Ino realized. Down below, Sasuke was trying to pick himself up, out of the crater he was slammed into, while Naruto was letting him. He could very well continue his assault on the struggling Uchiha at that very moment. But he was just… waiting.

"A very accurate observation, Nara Shikamaru." Behind Ino, Lee, Sakura and Shikamaru, Shino had chosen to join the conversation. "A Shinobi should exploit any weaknesses at any time. My opinion is one of fact. Naruto is acting like…" Shino walked towards the railing next to Lee. "He is of higher Rank. A superior Shinobi, if you will."

"Sakura?" Ino asked the pink-haired girl. "How can Sasuke-kun, the strongest Genin here, be losing against the dead-last like that?"

"I… I don't know!" Sakura let out, as if in panic. But somehow, she knew… Naruto had improved so much over the last few weeks. She never could have guesses that he had surpassed Sasuke. And by this much!

"In any case." Shikamaru interrupted. "I'm kinda glad. Naruto deserves to win more than Sasuke does, anyway."

He didn't wince or step back from the unbelieving stares Ino and Sakura were giving him, he just merely frowned.

"Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun." Lee nodded his head. "They are powerful rivals."

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In the fighting area, Sasuke had finally managed to stand up again. 'My Chidori doesn't work… The same with my Katon Jutsu… And… and he's faster than I am.' Sasuke glared hard at Naruto. 'How can this be? How can he be faster?'

With that in mind, Sasuke propelled himself forwards, intent on assaulting Naruto with superior Taijutsu.

But every blow, every kick, every attempt at a throw was easily shrugged off, dodged and blocked. And, whenever he would finally found an opening in Naruto's stance, the blonde just up and disappeared. 'H-How!'

Sasuke was clenching his fists, gritting his teeth and every muscle in his body was shivering in rage. "What the hell, Naruto!"

The blonde had appeared behind Sasuke. "What the hell what, Sasuke?" He calmly responded. He was actually glaring back.

"How did you improve this much? You're the dead-last! How the hell can you keep up with me, one of the elite Uchiha?" Sasuke yelled.

Naruto angrily shrugged. "I trained as hard as I could, every second of every minute of every hour. Yes, I am the dead-last! And you're top of the class!" This time, it was Naruto who clenched his fists. "But this fight will prove… this fight will prove that such titles, don't mean a fucking thing!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as Naruto hit him in the face hard, following up with a blow to the gut a tenth of a second later and another tenth of a second later, another blow to the head. And just like that, Sasuke felt how it felt like to receive ten blows in one second.

Naruto finished up with a kick to Sasuke's torso and a few handseals, unleashing "Fuuton, Reppuuken!" with his right fist stretched out towards Sasuke's body.

Sasuke was launched into the wall with a massive Wind Attack.

"Here's the dead-last, top rookie!" Naruto yelled starting another string of handseals. "Fuuton, -"

He got cut off as Hayate Gekkou appeared before Naruto. "Uzumaki Naruto, you are the winner. Uchiha Sasuke is unconscious."

The feeling of having defeated Uchiha Sasuke suddenly rushed through him. He had won against the Uchiha Sasuke. The one who was admired by everyone, cherished by everyone. The one everyone loved. He dared a look upwards, at the waiting balcony, to see the shocked looks on his peers' faces.

He then raised his right fist to the air and roared long and hard, before shouting out. "I am Uzumaki Naruto! Your future Hokage! Believe it!"

**TBC**

The way Naruto appeared behind Sasuke in the fight is NOT Hiraishin, it's simply his Shunshin. I mean, why would he have to use Hiraishin on a small fry like Sasuke, right? Well, Sasuke's stronger here than in the manga at this point, so I can't be THAT much of a Sasuke-basher, right?

At this point in this story, you've probably figured out I am completely overpowering the style Fuuinjutsu. In my opinion, Fuuinjutsu is the strongest of all Styles in the Naruto Anime, surpassing any Bloodline. Simply because the possibilities are endless.

-By the f-cking way... How hard is FFN making it? To edit scene breaks in between? It's truly annoying!

New Jutsu?

_Kenpou: Rengoukon; Kyuurai no Jutsu: Union Technique: Lightning Absorption_

_Fuuton, Fuujin no Mae: Wind Element: Wind Sickles (Attack from Inuyasha)_  
_Fuuton, Reppuuken: Wind Element: Violent Wind Fist._

Expansion on Naruto's Shinobi Outfit:

The Rengoukon Seals:

Kyuuka: Fire Absorption  
Kyuurai: Lightning Absorption  
Kyuusui: Water Absorption  
Kyuufu: Wind Absorption  
Kyuudo: Earth Absorption

Next Chapter…. Will be pretty surprising. What will Gaara/Dosu do? Who will die, who will survive?

Seeya


	10. Allies And Enemies

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: My apologies for taking so long. My laptop exploded… It's not a lie, it really exploded, from the inside. Now I've finally bought a new one. I also rewrote a few parts of the previous chapter, since there were far too many errors in that one, be sure to read that one first!

Enjoy!

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**

The crowd, everyone, was silent. The silence seemed to echo throughout the entire stadium as all were too afraid to say even a single word.

Many wore scowls on their faces, few wore smiles and even fewer wore proud smiles.

The whispers that followed were anything but praiseful.

"_That… that demon brat."_

"_Of course he won, he's the Kyuubi, after all…"_

"_Uchiha Sasuke-sama! I… I can't believe he lost!"_

In the section where the other contestants were waiting…

"A-ah…" The boy hesitated in saying the word, but he really wanted to do it. "Overkill." He expected a vicious response from the two girls in the waiting arena, but none came; they stood unmoving. With that said, Chouji continued eating his chips.

Nara Shikamaru had his eyes narrowed. "This doesn't make any sense. I… like it, but it doesn't make any sense."

His teacher, Sarutobi Asuma, looked at his student with a smile. "Well, his sensei did mention to me that he was the most surprising kid he's ever met. To think that Uchiha Sasuke, was beaten that easily."

"But… He's strong, that Sasuke... And Naruto is that much stronger." Shikamaru surmised. "He's changed so much. He was that prankster who always goofed off. It doesn't make any sense." To see Shikamaru this disbelieving made Asuma chuckle a bit.

"Yes. Uzumaki Naruto has changed drastically." Aburame Shino joined in on the conversation. "My bugs tell me he's perfectly organized. And when my bugs speak of organized, they speak of Chakra. He has become an opponent my bugs want to face and don't want to face…" Behind his glasses, his eyes were as narrowed as Shikamaru's.

A bit further to the railing, Sakura and Ino were shell-shocked, while Lee was jumping and screaming about extreme youth displays. "Fuh-Forehead…. Sasuke-kun… he was, he was defeated."

Sakura was just staring between the completely beaten up body of Sasuke to the completely fresh and unharmed Naruto. 'Naruto's become really, really strong…'

**Aerial Perspective  
Chapter 9: Allies and Enemies**

"Yeah… I thought he was strong. This confirms it. Man, I couldn't even follow that Uchiha brat's movements and Naruto was moving even faster." Sunagakure's Genin puppeteer uttered slowly. He was nervous, one could tell. But one couldn't tell what for. The young Sabaku took a look at his siblings and realized they were no different, even Gaara.

Releasing a sigh, Gaara started walking to the stairs that lead to the fighting area. "It's my turn now."

"Good luck… Ni-san." Temari quickly let out.

"Yeah." Kankurou added. "Try to go easy on the guy."

Gaara glared ahead of him. "No… I won't."

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Naruto felt pretty good about himself as he watched the unconscious Sasuke getting carried away by two medic-nin on a stretcher. He turned away from them and walked towards the stairs. "Wow..." He saw how most of the eyes of the crowd were on him. He felt weird as the weight of all those gazes landed on his person.

He chose to just stare at the ground and let a smile remain on his face as he did.

"Good match, Uzumaki Naruto."

He looked up to see Gaara descending the stairs. Right, the next match was between him and Rock Lee. Naruto chuckled shortly as the Fuzzy-Eyebrows was probably already on the fighting grounds, waiting. Looking over his shoulder, he was right and saw Lee staring at them.

With a grin, Naruto turned back to Gaara. "Thanks." He held out a hand. "Good luck, Gaara."

Gaara, hesitantly, brought up his own hand and shook Naruto's. As the red-haired Suna-nin walked by Naruto, he whispered. "Get ready."

Naruto nodded his head and continued his trek up the stairs.

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"I'm sure you've been waiting for this match, Kazekage-dono." Sarutobi Hiruzen commented as he took a drag on his smoke pipe. "Rock Lee is a very promising Genin." He continued after he released some smoke.

"I'm sure." The leader of the Sand let out. "But I'd rather have him fight against that previous fighter. That last match was truly something." Inside the disguise, Orochimaru wasn't pleased. 'That kid's too strong… He even forced me to retreat back in the Forest of Death. He needs to be disposed of.'

"Ah, but then, he will have to, if he wins this round." The Third turned to the area below. "But Rock Lee is not to be underestimated."

Orochimaru rolled his eyes as he followed the Third's gaze.

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The referee Hayate Gekkou took a glance at both contestants, before signaling that the match had begun.

Wasting no time, Rock Lee rushed forward, only to see he couldn't move. "W-what?"

"I have no time." Gaara seemed to explain. Lee looked down to see that sand was slowly going from his feet to his knees. "Sabaku Kyuu!"

Lee's eyes widened as the sand started moving up faster, up to his chest, only to…

Only to leave him completely.

With a massive roar, a huge wave of Sand whipped towards the small balcony where the Kazekage and Hokage were seated. Rock Lee watched in horror as the entire balcony was attacked. "W-what are you doing?"

"I am attacking the Kazekage, my father." Without turning towards the spandex-wearing Genin, he continued. "Our match is over, Rock Lee."

As the Sand cleared away from the balcony, everyone could see how ANBU were protecting the Third and how the Kazekage was protected by his own guards. "What is the meaning of this, Gaara?"

The Kazekage's powerful voice boomed all over the stadium.

Gaara stood his ground and gave a grin. "I'm stopping your plans to attack Konoha." He let out loud enough for his 'father' to hear.

Gaara's eyes widened as he sensed that Baki had appeared behind him, his Blade of Wind ready to slice him in half. 'Shit, my shield is no longer he-'

With a cruel sound, Baki's arm was suddenly ripped off and it hit the ground with a squishy sound. Gaara turned to see Baki glare at him. But he also saw Naruto behind Baki. And then the blonde slammed his fist into Baki's face, throwing the older Jounin into a wall and knocking him out. "I got your back, Gaara."

Gaara's eyes widened even further as Temari and Kankurou landed in front of him. "As do we." They both whispered.

"W-what's going on? Naruto-kun?" Lee asked as he was completely dumbfounded with everything that had just happened before his eyes.

"Lee." Naruto didn't really know how strong the spandex-wearing Genin was. "I think it's best you head for your teacher for orders. Cause everything's just gone to hell."

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The Sandaime Hokage noticed that the sand Gaara had used before had not been directed at him. "He was only attacking you, Kazekage-dono." He surmised.

Suddenly, a purple barrier surrounded the entire balcony and a part of the roof of the stadium. With a sigh, the Kazekage turned to the Third. "Although I didn't want it to go this way, I guess I'll have to make do."

Hiruzen didn't like this… "Shishi Enjin." Four Sound Shinobi were situated in the corners of the purple cube.

"Yes, quite the fortunate technique. Only you and your two ANBU versus me and my two guards." The Kazekage chuckled as explosions went off outside of the barrier, all around Konoha. "Konoha will be crushed… Sarutobi-sensei."

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Hayate Gekkou looked at the purple barrier, before he turned back to the situation in front of him. 'That Jounin from the Sand is completely knocked out.' His gaze went from the Baki's unmoving body to Naruto, who seemed to be talking to Gaara and his two siblings. 'That Naruto kid's no ordinary Genin…' He then saw how millions of white feathers were descending everywhere in the stadium. 'Genjutsu, huh?' he made the sign for Dispel and saw the four Genin in front of him do the same.

"You four… You seem to know more about this situation than I do." Gekkou let out without any coughs interrupting and approached Naruto and the others. "Explain."

"The Sand and Sound have collaborated. Their plan is to destroy Konoha completely." Gaara explained, somewhat coldly. "I have chosen to resign as a Suna-nin and have allied myself with Uzumaki Naruto."

"As have we." Temari and Kankurou nodded their heads as they focused on Hayate.

The referee took a look above and saw how Sand and Sound were fighting against Leaf Shinobi. "I can't trust you so easily, in this situation." He turned to Naruto. "Your orders are to stay with these three. You wi-" he got interrupted as Gaara chose to point his hands to Gekkou and a wave of Sand rushed towards him. "What are you-!"

Gekkou saw how the sand soared over, left and right, past him, to intercept an attack from a Sound Shinobi. "Interesting." Came an amused voice from behind Gekkou. "You've stopped my attack. I hadn't expected such a feat from a mere Genin."

Gekkou jumped and turned in mid-air as he created some distance and now stood in front of Naruto and the others. "And you are?"

The white-haired youth simply gave a grin. "I'll let you guess my Clan Name…" He whispered haughtily as bones erupted out of his elbows.

Hayate readied a sword. "He's got a Kekkai Genkai, is my guess. You keep your distance, he's no ordinary opponent." He ordered the Genin behind him.

And then, the white-haired Sound Shinobi rushed forward in awesome speed. Hayate could read his movements, though, and was ready for him. But then, Kimimaro faltered in his step and fell on one knee. He suddenly felt dizzy. "What?" He murmured as he held one hand against his head.

"You let your guard down, Kaguya Kimimaro."

Kimimaro shot a nasty gaze over his shoulder, one that promised immense pain. He saw a lone bandaged Sound Genin standing there. "One of those cockroaches that entered this Exam for Orochimaru-sama?" The Kaguya blinked as one of the Genin from before appeared before his new opponent. "You betray us and side with Konoha?"

"Obviously." Dosu answered. "There's no way we can beat Konoha. There never was."

The Bone User snarled. "For having no faith in Orochimaru-sama, your penalty will be… evisceration." Upping his body to Curse Seal Level One for a few seconds, he got rid of the motion sickness instilled to him by Dosu. "Get ready…"

But Kimimaro never expected to receive a blow to his head from the right a split second later. The blow was hard, too, as it sent him into one of the four walls of the fighting area. The same wall Baki was sent in, actually. Naruto had used his Shunshin to get behind Kimimaro and punch him in the face.

Gekkou let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. This Kaguya Kimimaro was no push-over. But to see him get knocked through a wall by a Genin… it lifted his spirits somewhat. "Uzumaki Naruto, right?" As the blonde turned, Gekkou took a step back. 'His eyes… they're red.'

"Yes. You want me to handle this guy, right?" The blonde asked.

"I want you to explain how one Sound and three Sand Genin are working with you."

"Oh." The blonde nodded once and noticed how Kimimaro was picking himself up. "That's easy. They're my comrades! You can totally trust them!" Gekkou's jaw went slack as he got the feeling the blonde's words were far from wrong. Far from wrong.

Dosu, Gaara, Kankurou and Temari had similar reactions. Somehow, they believed in Naruto's words.

"Alright, new orders." Hayate started. "I can't stay here and focus on this one guy." The Special Jounin looked up and saw the many fights scattered all around. "You five deal with him. After that, help everyone you can. Deal with your enemies without hesitation." He said the last part to the Genin who were not from Konoha.

With that, the Jounin left the Genin to their own devices. "Hey guys. I can handle this one by myself." Naruto started. "But we've got another visitor on the battlefield." Throwing a Kunai over his shoulder, he saw how it was easily evaded by Yakushi Kabuto.

"Quite the senses you have there, Naruto-kun."

"Why hide your presence from us if you're from the Leaf?" Naruto asked Kabuto as Kimimaro was on his feet again and glaring at him. When no response came, he took one short look at the glasses-wearing Shinobi, and Naruto knew when he saw that god awful smirk. "He's an enemy. You four deal with him, I have the feeling he's stronger than he looks."

With a puff and some smoke, Kankurou had summoned two puppets in front of him, Temari readied her Wind Fan, Gaara still had his arms folded and Dosu had his one eye narrowed, his metallic arm ready for use.

Naruto grinned and crouched till his knees touched the ground. "Right, let's get wild!"

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Asuma, Kakashi and Kurenai were back to back as they fought off Sand and Sound Shinobi. "What's going on, Kakashi? Why is the Hokage trapped in that purple Barrier?" The chain-smoker asked. "Are the Sound and Sand trying to overtake us?"

"Take a good look!" Came a new voice as Gai roundhouse kicked four weak Oto-nin to the side and landed in front of the trio. "Up there. It's not the Kazekage…"

"It's Orochimaru…" Kakashi had a bad feeling about this. Looking down, he saw one of his students work together with three Suna-nin and one Oto-nin. 'And just what is going on down there?' He had noticed that Gekkou had left them to fight off a Sound Ninja and a… Leaf? "You guys should try to break through that barrier. These Ninja here are small fry." He let out as he easily avoided seven Shuriken and threw one back, nailing his assailant in the neck.

"What about you, Kakashi?" Kurenai asked as she had trapped about eleven Sand Shinobi in an illusion and was taking it rather easy.

"My student… I need to know what's going on." And then, Kakashi saw how Naruto was fighting off the Sound-nin and the three Sand-nin, along with another Sound-nin were fighting off the Leaf-nin. "That is confusing."

"Your student can take care of himself, Kakashi. In case you hadn't noticed, he knocked out a Suna Jounin, a JOUNIN, with two blows." Team Ten's Instructor commented on the situation, lighting up a cigarette and kicking two Oto Chuunin away from him at the same time.

"I suppose."

"Yoshaaaaaa!" Gai screamed as Lee suddenly landed next to him. "Leeeee! Let's show them all who's bossu!"

"Ossu!" Lee bowed once, before defending himself from several Sound Chuunin. Lee had superior speed with his weights now off, so Gai wasn't worried.

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Sakura and Ino, meanwhile, were hiding behind a group of Konoha ANBU, while Shino and Shikamaru had disappeared from the small balcony they were on. Everything went to hell the moment that strange Genjutsu hit the stadium. The entire crowd was still asleep, minus the Shinobi amongst the crowd.

Dosu, the one Genin still from Sound in the Chuunin Exams, had jumped down seconds after that. Shino had said something to Shikamaru, BEFORE the Genjutsu, and the two had then just jumped off the balcony.

And Naruto had jumped off the balcony WAY before all that, to assist Gaara when that Sand Jounin was about to attack Gaara from behind. Temari and Kankurou had followed suit.

And now, they were just sitting on the ground, as the ANBU in front of them dealt with every attacker. "S-shouldn't we do something, Ino?"

"What can we do?" Ino felt completely helpless. "This is serious! Konoha is being attacked by two Countries!" And then an explosion came from down the fighting area. "W-what was that?"

"I saw it…" Sakura had been watching her teammate, Naruto, ever since the blonde had jumped down to help Gaara. "Naruto hit one of those Sound Ninja."

"A-Ah…." Ino didn't know how to respond to that. And then a thought came to her. "Hey, why is Naruto helping that Gaara guy anyway? Gaara's from the Sand, right? Sand is attacking us!"

"If you had paid attention, Gaara attacked his own Kazekage just before that weird Genjutsu!" Sakura explained, a bit annoyed. "And as you can see, those five down there are helping each other! The better question, MY question, is… what's that Sound Guy doing helping Naruto down there?"

"Hey, yeah…" Ino agreed. "That IS a better question."

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Kimimaro dusted himself off and faced the blonde Konoha Genin. "What's your name, Genin? Yours is a power I hadn't expected. I'll be returning that one tenfold…" The Chakra around Kimimaro increased in intensity.

"Heh. You can sure as hell try, boner." Naruto grinned. "The name's Uzumaki Naruto."

"Then, Uzumaki Naruto, get ready."

The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki simply shook his head. "You guys are late."

Kimimaro moved his eyes to the right to see two other Konoha Genin standing there. One with his hands in his pockets, and the other crouched, with a seal active, pointed at him. 'He's using a Jutsu?' Looking better, he saw how the crouching one had a big shadow running from his legs to… to his own legs! "What is this?" he let out, aggravated, as he realized he couldn't move.

"Kage Mane no Jutsu, success!" Shikamaru snorted. "You're talented in landing into sticky situations, Naruto. Perhaps you should try to stay in bed next time."

Naruto couldn't respond as the Heir of Konoha's Bug Users started talking. "Already you can feel it, am I wrong?" Shino walked past Shikamaru and regarded Kimimaro with a cool gaze. No one could see it because of his glasses however. "My bugs are draining you of that volatile Chakra."

The young Kaguya was getting furious. "Volatile Chakra? I will show you… Volatile Chakra!" With a huge burst, Kimimaro went to Curse Seal level two, immediately releasing himself from the Kage Mane.

"That's impossible!" Shikamaru let out, his eyes wide in shock and fear. 'This guy… He's too much for us!'

Even Shino had taken a few steps back. 'My bugs dare not go near that lethal Chakra. But it seems it's even more lethal to the user.'

Kimimaro rushed forward, two sharp-looking bones in his hands. His speed was surreal. But he was completely overtaken by surprise as both his swords were stopped by a single sword. "Kenpou: Kuchiyose; Eigou Kaiki." Naruto explained as he saw Kimimaro's face.

"How… how can you keep up with my speed… and my power?" Kimimaro asked as he jumped back, not wanting to underestimate his opponent any longer. "And how come your sword can withstand my Bones? My bones can slice through any kind of metal."

Naruto grinned. "This sword is special. It automatically copies the skill of the sword hitting it. In other words, it becomes its equal. As such, my task is to be a better swordsman than my opponent."

"I see. But when it comes to the Kaguya, there is no better swordsman." Kimimaro started with a smug grin. "And where you have one sword, I have many!"

"You guys stay back!" Naruto ordered both Shikamaru and Shino. "This guy's too strong! Go help Gaara!"

**SCENE BREAK - SCENE BREAK _ SCENE BREAK / SCENE BREAK \ SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK**

Kabuto was easily evading every attack thrown at him, even the tiniest grains of Sand coming from Gaara weren't hitting him. It was as if he could see and sense anything around him.

"This guy's not normal." Kankurou concluded.

"He is Yakushi Kabuto, Orochimaru's right hand man." Dosu spoke up beside Kankurou. "He's dangerous. I don't know if we can defeat him and he knows all my tricks."

"Do you know his?"

Gaara, Kankurou, Temari and Dosu turned to see Shikamaru and Shino adding themselves to the fighting party. Shikamaru was the one who asked the question.

"Unfortunately, no." The bandaged Dosu answered. "We'd best move with caution."

"You kids can run along, actually. My target is behind you. You're free to flee from the scene." Came the slippery voice of Kabuto, who was smirking at all the Genin in front of him. 'Six Genin… It shouldn't be too hard, but one of them is a Jinchuuriki… The others are of no concern.' He suddenly released a bit of Chakra around himself as a defense. "Aburame, eh? Your bugs won't be able to get near my Chakra; they'll be sliced. And you won't be able to catch me off guard, Shadow User." He addressed Shikamaru.

Both Konoha Genin, who had just jumped in, narrowed their eyes in annoyance. He knew too much about their abilities.

"Your target is Uzumaki Naruto?" Suna's Jinchuuriki spoke up. "And you are Orochimaru's right hand man?" He clenched his fists. "That man up there is not my father…" Kabuto could sense the anger in Gaara's voice. "Tell me, what happened to my father?"

'Should I enrage him further? My intel says he will lose control and attack friend and foe alike…' Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "Ah, yes, your father… He was pretty weak for a Kazekage. Orochimaru easily killed him. He took a few of his Shinobi with him, but they proved to be unnecessary."

Gaara did get enraged… but he didn't lose control. "Despite my hate for my father… You and Orochimaru… and your entire Country are going to pay for all of this."

Kabuto just shook his head and motioned for them to come. "From now on, I'll be aiming to kill, not to hurt."

**SCENE BREAK - SCENE BREAK _ SCENE BREAK / SCENE BREAK \ SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK**

He was trained to overcome, to kill. No one dared stand in his way once he started fighting. He was the leader of the Sound Four, the leader of four powerful Nin. He had been bested by no one except Orochimaru himself. Perhaps Kabuto was stronger, too, but he had never traded blows with Kabuto-sensei before.

But this kid…

This kid was completely owning him…

"I have no time to waste, bone user." His opponent's voice was deadly serious. "The Hokage is in danger and as one of his Shinobi, I need to help him."

"The Hokage?" Kimimaro grinned. "Orochimaru-sama is probably already putting his head in a paper bag as we speak."

The Kekkai Genkai user took a step back as Naruto's eyes changed color. Red… or was it orange? That… was definitely the wrong thing to say. 'Not good… I am already using my Curse Seal level 2… and he was already pushing me back before. Now it seems he's even stronger.'

"Your name… Kimimaro, right?" Naruto clenched both his fists tightly. "You are an enemy that needs to disposed of." Sage Chakra and Kyuubi Chakra were raging around his body.

Orochimaru's star pupil glared at the blonde, even though he was intimidated by the rising Killer Intent coming from Naruto. "Insolent little fool. You have no-" he got cut off by a massive blow.

"Fuuton: Genkosaku!" Kimimaro's entire body got smashed into the ground. He was too proud to scream because of pain, but he was very close to yelling out now. His entire left side of his body… was no longer there. Using Wind Chakra to power his blows, Naruto had it around his right fist as he had hit Kimimaro seconds ago.

"A…Uck!"

Performing seals, Naruto's gaze was hard as he looked at the suffering Kimimaro. "I'll destroy everything that threatens me and my friends… Fuuton: Ryoukan Furiorosu!" The blonde swung both his arms downward, towards Kimimaro.

And a massive crater was created as Wind Chakra slammed into Kimimaro's body, ending the bone user's life. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Kabuto look at him in shock.

Shikamaru and Shino were both panting and Naruto could see both were running low on Chakra. Gaara was still trying to hit the glass-wearing man, to no avail. Temari was resting on the ground, in a similar state as Shino and Shikamaru. Dosu was on the ground, unconscious but still alive. Kankurou was standing behind everyone and was doing close to nothing, except occasionally yelling at his younger brother to watch for any attacks coming from Kabuto. Beside the puppeteer lay his broken puppets.

Gaara stopped his attempts at hitting his opponent as he noticed that he was looking at Naruto, behind him. Slightly turning his head over his shoulder, to make sure Kabuto would not try anything sneaky, Gaara watched Naruto from the corner of his eye. 'He's already defeated his opponent.'

"Impressive, Naruto-kun." His voice had lost a bit of confidence. "I never thought anyone could deal with Kimimaro like that. You're quite the nuisance. As it is, I think it's best for me to take my leave." Bowing once, Kabuto quickly lowered himself in the ground.

"Should we go after him?" Gaara asked.

"No. We have bigger problems…" The blonde snarled as he stared at the Shishi Enjin in the distance. He shook his head and then nodded once. "I guess there's no choice…" Performing many sets of handseals, he held out both of his arms in front of his mouth and inhaled deeply. Similar to how Sasuke breathed out the Goukakyuu no Jutsu, Naruto unleashed the "Fuuton: Gufuu Suuheidou!"

He poured a massive amount of Chakra into the attack, resulting in losing his Sage State. But the outcome was awe-inspiring…

A vertical Tornado, packed with Wind Chakra, ripped through the area and was headed straight for the purple barrier… Or rather,

Straight for the building the purple barrier was on.

"… Naruto… What are you thinking?" Shikamaru asked warily as the ground was shaking. He cautiously approached the panting blonde. 'He defeated his opponent as if it was nothing…' The Nara thought as he stared at the several craters in the ground Naruto had created during the battle.

Shino, Temari, Gaara, Kankurou and Dosu were all staring at the tornado as it smashed into the building, making the Sound Four and everyone else in the ShiShi Enjin fall down. This made the Sound Four lose their focus and ultimately, making them cancel out the ShiShi Enjin.

"I'm… Out of Chakra, Shikamaru…" The blonde panted heavily and he fell down on one knee. "But that should do the trick. Please… Help Hokage-sama." He asked as he stared at Dosu, Gaara and the redhead's siblings.

"Don't worry." Shikamaru let out as he turned away from Naruto. "Despite the troublesome effort, we can't let you do all the work… unfortunately."

"Here." Shino threw Naruto a soldier pill, who in the meantime had fallen on his back. "It will replenish your Chakra Presence." The soldier pill landed on his chest.

"You can count on us, Uzumaki Naruto." Gaara slightly grinned at the recuperating Jinchuuriki.

"Yes, you have my word as well." Dosu bowed once. 'He defeated Kimimaro and made Kabuto retreat… I knew he was strong, but… I never expected to this extent.'

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Orochimaru skillfully landed on the ground and watched his opponent, the Third Hokage do the same. Beside him, stood his trusted summon, Enma, the great Ape. But then, he also had his strong undead summons, the First and Second Hokage right next to him.

Still, this wouldn't do. The Shishi Enjin was keeping the rest of Konoha out of the fight. And now…

Now, Hatake Kakashi, Maito Gai and several other Jounin, including several ANBU squads were surrounding them. No, a retreat was in order. But how?

The sound four were all engaged in losing battles with higher-ranked Shinobi. They were definitely a lost cause. This plan had gone bad fast. More and more reinforcements were coming to aid the Sandaime and Orochimaru realized he had to do something big to get out of here. A summon would-

The Snake master snarled as his thoughts came to a halt. "Kage Mane no Jutsu."

Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Chouza had joined the battle. Orochimaru saw how Shikaku's shadow had trapped him and both former Hokage. "You think you can capture three Shinobi of this caliber with that shadow of yours?"

Shikaku chuckled. "Not shadow. Shadows."

Then, with a start, he realized how more members of the Nara Clan were utilizing the Kage Mane on their forms. "You-!"

"Orochimaru." The Third interrupted. "Your summons will disappear when you die. It seems… there's no other way." There was definite sadness in the old man's voice.

"Sarutobi! I won't go down so easily!" Orochimaru tried with all his might to break free, but it didn't make any difference. To escape from one Kage Mane was hard enough. To escape from a dozen… was simply an impossibility.

"It's been too long. It is time to correct your past mistakes, Sarutobi." Came Enma's voice next to the Fire Leader. "Allow me to deal the killing blow."

Hiruzen nodded his head sadly and turned the other way. "I am sorry, Orochimaru."

Everyone watched as Enma crashed into Orochimaru's form, ending the Snake Sennin's life.

**SCENE BREAK - SCENE BREAK _ SCENE BREAK / SCENE BREAK \ SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK**

An unfamiliar ceiling…

He felt sore all over and realized with annoyance that his body couldn't move without feeling pain. But that wasn't something to worry about now. He was clearly in a hospital bed, in Konoha. So Konoha had survived the Sand-Sound invasion. He wanted to know what happened. What happened to the old man and Orochimaru? He wanted to know if someone had died.

"I see you're awake."

An unfamiliar voice…

He gritted his teeth as pain hit his neck with extreme force. But he wanted to turn his head to see who was in the room with him. The first thing he saw was long purple hair and an ANBU Uniform. He swallowed deeply… here was a beautiful, unknown woman… What could he say?

"You're suffering from Chakra exhaustion. You won't be able to move for at least a day more, and that's with taking in consideration the Kyuubi's regenerative powers."

She was upfront.

"You've helped a great deal during the attack, Uzumaki Naruto." She narrowed her brown eyes at him. "Thank you for getting rid of the Shishi Enjin. Although it sent you in a life-threatening situation. You releasing that Jutsu seemed to have completely drained you from almost all of your Chakra. A simple soldier pill wouldn't have sufficed. You've been unconscious for two days. Quite a lot, for a Jinchuuriki."

"A…" His voice was completely gone, it seemed. He forced it through, though. "Anything… for the Hokage."

"Admirable." She nodded her head. "A few weeks ago… the Hokage came to me with a request. I refused it immediately. But now… I am taking the request into consideration."

"Who are you?" He rasped.

She smiled. Naruto was dumbfounded to see she kind of had a cruel smile… "Uzuki Yuugao. ANBU Captain."

So this was Uzuki Yuugao… One of the two women who could teach him how to deal with Genjutsu. "Ah…"

"As soon as you have recovered, I want you to see the Hokage's secretary. She will have a mission for you." She turned and went for the exit of the hospital room. "Also, congratulations."

As if reading Naruto's confusion, even though she had her back turned towards him, she added. "Congratulations on making Chuunin."

**SCENE BREAK - SCENE BREAK _ SCENE BREAK / SCENE BREAK \ SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK**

A defeat at the hands of the class clown. A defeat at the hands of the dead-last. A defeat at the hands of a loser. A defeat at the hands of total moron.

A defeat at the hands of Uzumaki Naruto.

The Uchiha sighed. He knew the dobe had improved greatly over the last few months. He should've prepared more for the battle in the Chuunin Exams. He shouldn't have underestimated his teammate. Not by this much. The hate in the blonde's eyes had been apparent when he had released that last attack on him. Did Naruto really hate him? Did he really hate Naruto? He supposed he should be hating Naruto for defeating him. But… Somehow, he didn't. The fight had been one-sided, and Sasuke knew, he really KNEW, Naruto had been holding back.

The Uchiha himself had given his all.

"Damn it." He cursed. He was still in a hospital bed. He was out cold for the entirety of the Sand-Sound Attack.

But now he had someone to fight against, someone to train against, someone to compete with. A rival. To surpass Naruto was to become stronger. To become stronger was to get closer to defeating his brother. Yes, he was going to be training against Naruto to gain strength.

"Yo."

Sasuke looked up from his sheets to his Jounin Instructor. "Kakashi."

"How you holding up, Sasuke?"

"I'm fine." The young avenger scowled. "Stop asking me that question already."

"Well… You're still in a hospital bed." The lazy Jounin shrugged.

"You realize I have a few broken bones, right?"

"So… You're not fine?" The Copycat tried.

Sasuke ignored the question. "Why are you here, Kakashi?"

"Oh, right." He suddenly grabbed something out of one of his pockets and Sasuke got ticked off to see it was an Icha Icha Book.

"Well?" Sasuke asked, after a minute and a half. Even he had his limits of annoying silences.

"A medic-nin will be tending to your fractured bones today. You should be up and about in two days." He moved his gaze from his book to Sasuke. "We're going to be having more missions, higher ranked ones. Time for pleasantries is quite over, Sasuke."

The Uchiha grinned with confidence. 'Finally…'

"Naruto will already be on a mission starting tomorrow and that one may last a week or two. So we'll be having a substitute for him. A boy named Sai. He reminds me of you." Kakashi continued. "Sai is higher ranked than Genin, by the way."

Sasuke had frowned at the 'reminds me of you' part, but perked up at the 'higher ranked than Genin' one. Someone else to test himself against? "What about the dobe? Is this Sai a permanent substitute?"

"No. Naruto will be back, of course."

"Good." Unknowingly, Sasuke had let that one out at loud, making Kakashi frown a bit in puzzlement.

'I see… Sasuke's improving. That defeat was a good thing, then.'

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"I want you to come at me with everything you have."

After Naruto went to the Hokage's secretary, he got told to report at the interrogation section of Konoha. He wanted to see the old man, but he knew he was busy with a lot of meetings. After getting to the Interrogation Department, he found Uzuki Yuugao and Hayate Gekkou waiting for him.

After that, the two brought him to a training ground inside of the interrogation building.

".. You don't want that." Naruto replied to the request.

Gekkou frowned at Uzuki to see she was as neutral as usual, before turning back to Naruto. "I know you're good, but I'm a special Jounin. You don't have to worry about hurting me."

Naruto was focused on the sword in Gekkou's hands, though. "That a special sword, Hayate-san?"

"Yes. Why?"

The blonde shrugged. "Abilities?"

"Multiplicity." Gekkou grinned at the perplexed look on the blonde.

"What do you mean? It can make copies of itself?" Naruto frowned at the older man. "That doesn't make sense."

"No, it doesn't make copies of itself. It lets itself be copied, momentarily."

"Ok…"

"If I were to use Bunshin while I hold this sword, the sword in my Clone's hands is just as strong as the original. But the Bunshin itself would still just be an illusion."

"That's… pretty dangerous." The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki surmised. "That's actually pretty awesome!"

Hayate nodded his head. "Yes, it is. I can almost always hit my enemies."

Performing a few handseals, Naruto grinned like a madman. "Teach me Kenjutsu, please, Hayate-san! Kenpou: Kuchiyose; Eigou Kaiki!"

Hayate looked intrigued and even Uzuki's expression changed from neutral to curious. In Naruto's hands was a broad sword, obviously made to be handled by taller man than Naruto. It was broad and huge and one would think a boy like Naruto would use it more like a shield than a sword.

"What's that sword, Naruto-kun?" Hayate asked, getting a bit enthusiastic about having a Kenjutsu battle with someone again.

"It's the Eigou Kaiki… The Sword Of Eternal Recurrence."

"Isn't it a bit too heavy for you, Naruto?" Uzuki added her two cents. Hayate had to agree.

"No, it's weightless. Look…" As soon as he let the sword go, it vanished. "It responds only to my touch. When I release the sword, the summon ends. It can never be stolen from me, it can never be handled by someone else." Konoha's pariah seemed really proud of his sword as he explained it to his fellow Konoha-nin.

"So… Now you have to re-summon it again?" The coughing Jounin asked.

"Yup. But it's no big deal. I can perform handseals to summon it, but I can also do this." Pouring Chakra into his right hand palm, the Kuchiyose Fuuin seal in his palm activated and then, the Eigo Kaiki suddenly appeared.

Uzuki and Hayate were both dumbfounded. 'Fuuinjutsu?'

"So, what are its abilities?" Gekkou was really interested now.

"It copies anything it touches." Naruto grinned.

"What? Forever?"

"No, not forever. As soon as my sword touches anything else, the skill it's copied of the former sword disappears. So… Hit my sword, Hayate-san!"

"Alright." Hayate shrugged and did so.

"Now I have your ability. But since you're obviously skilled in Kenjutsu, you'd probably kick my ass. Usually when I use Kage Bunshin no Jutsu with the Eigou Kaiki, the Eigou Kaiki's ability only works with me, the original. Now, however…"

Gekkou and Uzuki watched as Naruto created about a hundred Shadow Clones. "How about this? Bunshin no Jutsu!" Both Jounin grinned wickedly as Naruto also created normal Clones, all with the Eigou Kaiki with the ability of Gekkou's sword. So all those swords, carried by a few hundred of Narutos were dangerous…

"I don't think you can handle this by yourself, Hayate." Uzuki grinned as she grabbed her own sword. "I've been waiting for a good work-out."

"Heh. You just want to do some slicing…" Hayate chuckled. "But by all means, let's do this."

The real Naruto, in the meantime, was hiding, watching the two Jounin with narrowed eyes. 'These two… can they make me stronger?' And then, his army of sword-wielding clones and shadow clones descending upon the duo. 'Let's see them survive this without a scratch first…'

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Yooo!

Sorry about the scene break thingies, but I don't know how else to make it easier...

Next Chapter will bring in some new allies… And will focus a bit more on other characters than Naruto.

Naruto's gotten real power hungry and his character has changed quite a bit. I saw one reviewer who had noticed that in the latest chapter. Naruto carries in him quite a load of frustration and anger. He is also quite tense, since he is carrying a lot of responsibility, given to him by his future self. I figured this was how his character would develop then.

I've given Sasuke a bit of a better character than in the Manga, or at least I think so…

And Danzo will make his appearance very soon. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! And to the reviewer with the '9' comment; I've finally gotten past the ninth chapter! Getting past the nine is pretty hard, actually…

New Jutsu:

Fuuton: Genkosaku - Wind Element: Cleaving Blow

Fuuton: Gufuu Suuheidou - Wind Element: Horizontal Tornado

Fuuton: Ryoukan Furiorosu - Wind Element: Massive Downwards Descent (Actually pretty similar to Gaara's Sabaku Taisou, only this one's with Wind Chakra, thus stronger...)


	11. The InBetweeners

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Author's Note: No Pre-reader. From here on in, the story is going to go down a whole other road compared to Canon...

Story Title: Aerial Perspective  
Chapter Title: The In-Betweeners

* * *

"Suna has no right for such demands. It's barely been a week and they already think we've forgotten about their foolish collaboration with Oto." Hyuga Hiashi, a proud man with a no-nonsense attitude and one who did not take a liking to being unheard. "They have nothing to offer in this situation."

"We should not let our guards down, this could be a farce. These demands of wanting their prized Genin back might be a way to make us believe those children are really considering becoming Konoha Shinobi. I still think they are spies." Utatane Koharu, the former teammate of the This Hokage, voiced her opinion. "Konoha will not make the same mistake by letting other foreign Shinobi in. That Yakushi Kabuto was Orochimaru's right hand man! Who knows who these children are? Let alone this Kinuta Dosu, who worked under Orochimaru."

"They have proven their loyalty, have they not? They fought alongside a Konoha Genin, Uzumaki Naruto, and stopped one of the stronger Shinobi under Orochimaru. They even made Orochimaru's strongest disciple retreat." Akimichi Chouza, Chouji's father, calmly responded.

"You think those actions alone are enough to prove loyalty to Konoha? Perhaps you are more ignorant than I thought." Shimura Danzo, leader of ANBU Root. The harsh words created a dark atmosphere around the table the Konoha Council and the Clan Leaders were seated at.

"Danzo." The Third warned. "Now is not the time to bicker amongst ourselves." The aging leader let out before Chouza could respond. "It is true they have fought for Konoha and it's true that it might not fully prove anything. But it is also true that they have all undergone several interrogations under both Morino Ibiki and Yamanaka Inoichi." The Sandaime nodded at the present Inoichi. "Your thoughts please, Yamanaka-san?"

Inoichi nodded back and stood from his chair, staring at every person present. Shimura Danzo, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, Akimichi Chouza, Hyuga Hiashi, Nara Shikaku, Mitokado Homura, Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Tsume. "I've entered all of their minds. They were not prepared at all for the powers of the Yamanaka Clan, so I've come across the answers to many questions with ease. They all fought with the same thing in mind. Or rather, the same person. Uzumaki Naruto."

The Yamanaka Clan leader paused and gave the Third a short, but very meaningful gaze. One that said the two of them would have to talk to each other in private, because something was very important, something that he couldn't tell in this room. "They are loyal and loyal alone to Uzumaki Naruto. Not to Konoha, but to him. That much was proven to me. And I know that Uzumaki Naruto is loyal to Konoha. I believe that should answer any questions?"

"Of course it doesn't." Homura, the other former teammate of the Third immediately reacted. "Why would they be loyal to Naruto? You've entered their minds, so you know more. A lot more."

"Perhaps I should." Inoichi responded with an unsure grin. "But that was enough for me to cut the link. The Yamanaka are mind dwellers, but we will never invade someone else's minds further once we already have the answers we are looking for." He turned back to the Hokage. "They are loyal to Konoha. I think the demands from Suna for their return should not be answered in any way except refusal."

"Well, that goes without saying." Danzo once again joined the conversation. "Now. Seeing that we've gained new, promising Shinobi, perhaps we should focus on their roles in our Village. They've proven to be quite reliable. They should be put to good use."

"They are Genin, Danzo." Hiruzen frowned at his former comrade. "They are getting used to Konoha's customs as we speak and are living under the same roof as Uzumaki Naruto."

Danzo considered the Fire leader with a neutral, almost bored gaze. "You suggest we wait, then? What about Uzumaki Naruto? He carries great potential, seeing how he completely humiliated Konoha's prodigy, Uchiha Sasuke. He has now been promoted to Chuunin and thus, can be added to the ranks of ANBU." His gaze hardened and narrowed as he stared at the Third. "It is also quite obvious that he's hiding something. And I'm not really sure you know the story behind his miraculous growth in strength."

"The boy strives to become the greatest Hokage, Danzo. He pushes himself beyond his limits, it's only natural he's grown so much."

The partly-bandaged elder shook his head at the Third's response. "Rubbish. No one can improve that much in such little time."

"Have you been watching him, Danzo?"

A short silence came as Danzo glared at Konoha's leader. "It is common knowledge, Sarutobi. Common knowledge that the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki did not live up to his title of holding the greatest Bijuu in him. The Kyuubi's keeper would be a strong vessel. He was anything but… And all knew."

"Then, I would assume this growth to be even more natural." Aburame Shibi spoke in almost a whisper. But still loud enough for all to hear. "Someone with a Bijuu as immense as the Nine-tailed Demon Fox… I would believe him to become a force not easily matched."

He would growl at that, had Danzo been a lesser man.

"Enough, already." All turned their heads to Nara Shikaku, Konoha's General. "Those Suna and Oto kids, they can be trusted, if Inoichi says so." Inoichi nodded his head at that, and Shikaku continued. "This meeting was about them, not about Uzumaki Naruto. Why do meetings here always get dragged out to troublesome cases? This meeting's subject has already been dealt with. I want to go home."

The Third inwardly smiled and knew Shikaku had read the short glance that was between him and Inoichi. "I agree, meeting adjourned."

Danzo shunshined away, clearly unhappy.

* * *

Never had he thought he would hear this from a sane person. But Yamanaka Inoichi was definitely dead serious about it. Hiruzen had summoned Jiraiya before the two of them could really talk about his latest mind dives. The Seal Master had created a Sound Barrier around the Hokage's Office just to be sure.

Now the three of them were having a small meeting.

"He's a genius."

The old man Sarutobi chuckled. "Uzumaki Naruto is a genius?"

"Yes. I've watched through Kinuta Dosu's eyes and saw him gather information in a way Jiraiya would definitely be proud of. That kid found out about the Sand-Sound Invasion before all of us. Then I watched through Sabaku no Gaara's eyes and saw how he won the Suna Genin over. If it hadn't been for him, Konoha would have been dealt more damage to. He took Suna's trump card and made it… made him, one of Konoha's own. Hokage-sama… Naruto's strong, but he's also smart. He's gained four allies during this Chuunin Exam… without too much trouble. If I were to suggest anything, I think he should be the leader of a team, consistent of just them."

Jiraiya had smiled at the praise his godson was receiving. Yup, that kid was going to be big some day.

Sarutobi also had a smile on his face as he considered the Yamanaka in front of him. "An ANBU Squad has already taken an interest in him. He's having a mission with an ANBU Captain and another ANBU Member and he's being judged on his actions. Though he himself obviously doesn't know about it."

"ANBU, huh?" Jiraiya let out after he whistled. "The kid's ready for it, but is ANBU really a place for him to be in?" Yamanaka Inoichi found himself wanting to ask the same question.

"This ANBU Squad might be good for him. It's Uzuki Yuugao's."

Inoichi chuckled at that. "I see. Yes, that might even be better."

Jiraiya had an intense look on his face. "So… He's having a mission with Uzuki Yuugao? Now! Where are they headed?"

Oh, right. Sarutobi now remembered. Uzuki Yuugao was one of Jiraiya's favorite Konoha women… "Yes, they are having a mission, they're on their way to Kumo, using Route Yellow." ANBU always used several Routes to get from point A to B. Every Route had a different place to eat, sleep and hunt, some were faster, some were slower.

"Yellow, huh?" Jiraiya grinned. "I'm on it!" He vanished, and with him, the Sound Barrier.

Inoichi shook his head at his departure, before frowning at the Third's face, which was filled with amusement..

"I probably should have told him Naruto's not having that mission until tomorrow…"

* * *

Team Seven was to report at training area 39, an area she was unfamiliar with. Apparently they would be having a new, temporary, teammate today. Sakura wondered what he or she would be like, nothing was told. Sasuke would be out of the hospital for two days now since his release. Would he really be ready to take on new missions already?

"You must be… Haruno Sakura."

Sakura was usually the first one to arrive, so she was visibly surprised to see another person standing in the clearing they were to report in. He was seated on the ground, leaning against a tree and… drawing on a scroll? "Yes. And you are?"

She expected him to rise to his feet and offer a hand, but he merely turned back to his scroll and uttered "Sai."

"Sai." She nodded her head, also frowning at the boy. "Nice to meet you, Sai." She didn't get a response. She was about to ask another question to the new guy, but her attention got drawn elsewhere as another person walked into the clearing. She recognized him immediately. "You! You are…! Uhmm…"

This guy eyed Sakura with an unimpressed stare, bored even. "Sabaku no Kankurou. Don't worry about it, I don't remember your name either."

"Haruno Sakura." She let out through pursed lips, a small tick forming above her left brow.

"Sai." The drawing nin chose to introduce himself shortly.

Kankurou gave him a short stare and sighed as he didn't see anything he could lean against, so he then sat on the ground. "So, you guys are Team Seven, right? I was told to join you."

"… Oh! I see!" The pink-haired female realized they were here to have a mission with them. So Sai must be the newcomer in the team and Kankurou… as well? "Our other teammates are Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, though Naruto is on another mission. And our teacher is-" She got interrupted by Kankurou.

"Hatake Kakashi, yes, I know." Kankurou grinned at the slight glare on Sakura's face. He just loved interrupting women's speeches. Always got a kick out of it from doing the same with Temari. And he knew all about the Genin Teams because he had to know for the Invasion. Things certainly turned out differently, though.

"Hn." Was how Sasuke greeted the trio as he appeared close to Sai. The young avenger jumped into the tree Sai was leaning against and chose to sit on a sturdy branch, preparing himself to get bored.

Kakashi entered about two hours later, to see an irked Sasuke and Sakura, a still drawing Sai and a sleeping Kankurou. "Well, then." Pakkun, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, bit Kankurou in the ankle. "Assuming introductions have been made, I'm here to let you know we'll be having a D-Ranked Mission."

A short silence…

"What?" Surprisingly, it was Sasuke who reacted first. Hell, just a few days ago Kakashi told him they would be having higher Ranked Missions!

"Well, we were supposed to be having another mission today, but someone else seemed to have finished a mission sooner than expected and nabbed ours." Kakashi smiled under his mask. 'Hadn't expected that from Naruto's first mission…'

"D-Ranked? I'm thinking that means the same thing as in Suna…" Kankurou wanted to cry all of a sudden. He hadn't had D-Ranked Missions in Suna for ages! What the hell kind of torture would he be experiencing in Konoha!

* * *

Days went by, Shinobi had missions with several other Shinobi, as Sarutobi experimented with implementations using D-Ranked Missions. Kinuta Dosu had been having missions with Team 8, 10 and 7, but had yet to synchronize at an acceptable level with any of those. The same could be said about Sabaku no Gaara. His two siblings were less of a hassle. Sabaku no Kankurou worked adequately with both Team 7 and 10, and had yet to have a mission with 8. Sabaku no Temari, so far, had worked with 8 and 10, and preferably never worked with 8 again. Because of a certain perverted member of team 8. Or so she told.

Sarutobi chuckled to himself. Every Inuzuka was perverted, after all. Or so he believed.

He would be implementing both Gaara and Dosu on a mission with Team Gai soon and see how that will work out. In the meantime, he had also arranged for a Chuunin to teach the four foreign Shinobi a little about the history of Konoha, much to their chagrin.

And right now, Hatake Kakashi was standing in front of him, in his office.

"I take it you have a guess on why I have called for you, Kakashi?" The elder started as he put a file to the side. One that read "Administration of Icha Icha Volumes…" Kakashi saw. He wanted to know what more was written on it, actually.

That would come later, though. "Yes. I think this concerns Naruto."

"Yes. The ANBU is interested in Naruto, greatly. Uzuki Yuugao's ANBU Squad, specialized in infiltration. His infiltrations skills are superb, Kakashi." The monkey summoner tried to read Kakashi's expressions but came with a blank. "Naruto wanted to know your opinion before he would decide on what to do. Though he is now Chuunin and can make the decision himself, of course."

"Yes. And he should decide it for himself." The copy-nin commented.

"Agreed."

Kakashi almost jumped in surprise as Naruto materialized beside him. But he was a Jounin and an elite one at that. Those didn't jump in surprise as they didn't get surprised. 'Shit, he's getting better. I hadn't sensed him. Should've used my nose before I entered the room…'

"Hokage-sama." Naruto bowed his head shortly. "I've declined the offer, but Uzuki Yuugao and Hayate Gekkou will still be training me in their respective expertise. I also wish to stay under Hatake Kakashi's command and… if I were to take missions as a Chuunin, I want Sabaku no Gaara and Kinuta Dosu as my teammates."

"Why those two?" The Third asked, while Kakashi stayed silent. He was quite intrigued by Naruto's requests. Seeing how the Third only questioned his third request, the Copy Ninja guessed the two former were already granted.

"Hehe." The blonde troublemaker grinned his teeth out. "You're not the only one who can see all around the Village, old man. I've got Fuuin Bunshin all over the place. Those two can be a pain in the ass for someone else."

"I see." The Sandaime was clearly amused. "In that case, I have additions to your squad, Uzumaki Naruto. Though it is up to you to decide."

The blonde frowned. "I have a squad?"

"Only if you receive a mission where you are the leader. It won't happen too soon, because Kakashi will still be instructing you on how to move a team from point A to B without too much trouble. You'll still be in team 7 for the time being. But your squad is already known."

"A squad with a Chuunin as its leader is usually consistent of four subordinates. Yours will be the ones you aforementioned, and you will select two others from four." The elder smiled at Naruto's unsure face. "It'll be hard, because two of those are also former enemies."

Kakashi straightened up. 'What is he thinking?'

"Their names are Tayuya and Kosahka Hanako. Former Sand and Sound Kunoichi. The others you do know of are Hyuga Neji and Inuzuka Kiba. Only they are available to you when you're ordered to do a mission." Hiruzen nodded his head at both teacher and student.

"Former Sand and Sound nin?" The blonde Chuunin repeated. "… How?"

"This coming from someone who persuaded three Sand and one Sound Genin to fight alongside him?" The Third asked back. "It's still a bit questionable and they will still be watched, but for now, it seems they are… innocent… and knew little of the invasion."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Ibiki? Yamanaka?"

"Yes, both. Though one of them did work for Orochimaru, so she might know something about countering their techniques. She will be watched more… thoroughly."

The lowest ranked in the room sighed. "It'll be a while before all that happens, right? So I'm just going to join Sasuke and Sakura again? I still haven't talked to Sasuke since the Chuunin Exams…" He let out a bit hesitantly.

"I don't think you have to worry too much about it, Naruto." The Copy-nin reassured. "He's training himself harder than before, but it doesn't look like he's holding a grudge. If anything, I think he wants to fight you again."

The Third coughed once. "You two are dismissed."

* * *

Several days passed, many D-Ranked missions were accomplished and Sarutobi had finally come to a conclusion. He had to hand it to Yamanaka Inoichi. Team Kakashi would be Sasuke, Sakura and Sai. Naruto would be forming a Chuunin Squad with promising Genin… So actually a Genin Squad with him as Chuunin Leader. His subordinates would be Gaara, Dosu and Temari.

Kosahka Hanako was a former Sound Chuunin who he had planned to implement into one of Konoha's teams, but he wasn't so sure about her yet. Jiraiya told him he found out Sand had been tricked into assaulting Konoha alongside Oto, but as punishment the Third Hokage had denied the request for return of any captured Suna nin. Kosahka Hanako was a promising Kunoichi, but she clearly didn't want to stay in Konoha. She didn't have any information to give Suna about Konoha, because she had been spending her time in a cell mostly.

The Third Hokage mused long and hard about the matter.

He would probably be returning Hanako to Suna, since he also had the Sabaku siblings, children of the late Kazekage. Those three really wanted to stay in Konoha, so it probably was for the better.

That meant Tayuya of the Sound would perhaps be joining Naruto's cell. Hiruzen had seen the young woman. Judging from her Chakra levels and the fact that she could control her Cursed Seal, going as far as being able to bring it to a higher level, she would probably give a high-leveled Chuunin a hard time. Perhaps she would even win. She was a wild card, but with Orochimaru dead, she didn't have anything left. The others were different.

Kidoumaru was highly loyal to Orochimaru and swore vengeance against the entirety of Konoha. Jiroubou had another reaction to his master's death and turned suicidal, but he failed, of course. Sakon was a loose cannon, sure to kill anything in sight that looked even close to being his enemy, especially if that anything wore a Konoha Hitai-Ate.

Tayuya was pissed off, but… she was always pissed off. She didn't seem to hold a grudge, like Kidoumaru, nor had she given up hope, like Jiroubou. She still hated Shinobi from Konoha, but she pretty much hated everyone. She could still mean something for Konoha.

But she was strong.

It would probably be a better idea to move her under a Jounin like Kakashi or Gai. But something about her attitude reminded him of Naruto. The old Hokage didn't really know how strong Naruto was and he wasn't even sure if the blonde could handle someone of Tayuya's caliber. But if Gaara was any indication, he believed Naruto could actually do it. Which is why he decided to try it.

Naruto's cell would be Gaara, Dosu, Temari and Tayuya, in the future.

* * *

"Who the hell is this guy?" Naruto asked Sasuke as he stood in front of the avenger and pointed in Sai's face. Sai simply stared ahead, not even paying the blonde or his finger any attention. They had been having a few weeks of missions where Kakashi was, subtly, showing Naruto how to lead a team. Subtly meaning without letting Sasuke and Sakura know. During that time, they were occasionally joined by other Genin, like the Suna Trio or Dosu. This guy, Naruto didn't recognize.

Sasuke spared a rolling glance at both his teammates, before he turned back to staring at the ground. He was seated on a boulder overlooking the clearing they usually trained in. "…. I forgot his name."

"Tcheh! And you're supposed to be an Uchiha! I thought you guys remember everything!" Naruto threw his hands in the air and walked towards Sakura, who was reading a book.

'… You guys?' The Uchiha shrugged his shoulders, not lifting his gaze away from the ground. "Only the important things, dobe."

"Whatever, I'm already walking away." Naruto flipped him one over his shoulder, but Sasuke, obviously, didn't even notice.

Sai, in the middle of all that, was simply still staring ahead. Staring to nothing, which came to Sasuke's attention after a while. "…" And then he decided he didn't really care about awkward kids who stared at nothing.

"Yo, Sakura-chan! What are you reading?" Naruto had walked over to Sakura in the meantime. Kakashi had yet to show up and probably would in an hour.

"Sasuke-kun gave me a book on Fire Jutsu. I'm trying to learn the Housenka no Jutsu, it costs less Chakra than the Goukyaku, but may take more, depending on how many fire I want to release. This technique may be more suitable to me than the Goukyaku." The pinkhead replied.

"Ooh! Wanna try it out on me!"

"Not now, Naruto." Sakura whined. 'Things have been rather normal lately.' The bookworm thought as she tuned Naruto's rambling about being invulnerable to Fire out. 'I expected Naruto and Sasuke-kun to get into a fight right away, but… they're just fine. In fact, Sasuke-kun seems more content.' She frowned, not really reading the scroll in her hands. 'Why is Sai still here, though? With Naruto back, we're complete again, right?'

"Oy, Sakura-chan! You're boring, I'm gonna ask the new kid to spar with me."

"What did you say? Who's boring?" Naruto caught Sakura's book in the back of his head… At least, if he didn't have an invisible Fuuin Bunshin yelling at him to duck. He modified his Fuuin Bunshin so that only he could hear them now. Some were modified differently, for all to hear, like the one in the Forest of Death who was trailing Team Eight.

Sakura gritted her teeth, not really thinking about the fact that Naruto ducked so easily, while he had his back turned to her. "Throw it back to me, Naruto!"

The blonde gave her a disapproving look, picking up the book. "Why the hell did you throw it in the first place!"

Catching the book, Sakura shook her head and continued her reading. 'That's another thing that's changed… Naruto's not so… gooey over me anymore.'

"Oy, Sumi-san." Naruto greeted Sai as the blonde saw him scribble things on a scroll using Ink. Sumi meant Ink. "Can you fight or can you only draw?"

The black-haired boy just continued drawing, infuriating the blonde somewhat.

"Hey, you want to be in our team, right? How about you start talking back when people talk to you, eh?"

"Oh." Sai suddenly started, surprising the Jinchuuriki. "I am your replacement in Team Seven. My name is Sai, it's nice to meet you."

"… My replacement?"

"Oh… I hadn't realized you have impaired hearing. I assume that is why you speak so loud and obnoxious. I apologize for not realizing, Uzumaki Naruto-san." Sai said, in a slightly, but not really, louder voice.

"Wait a minute." Sasuke interrupted before Naruto would probably maim him. "His replacement?"

"Oh…. You have impaired hearing as we-" Sai got cut off.

"What do you mean?" The Uchiha demanded. "Is it because he got promoted to Chuunin?"

"I don't have any interest in knowing why I am to replace Naruto-san, so I do not know. I merely am following orders."

"Naruto? You're leaving the team?" Sakura, now joining in on the conversation. "Why?"

"Hell if I know. This is the first I've heard of it. How come you know this?" The blonde asked, glaring at Sai.

"It is my mission." He answered.

Sasuke sighed. So one guy he had yet to surpass was leaving team 7? This Sai was strong, right? He just hoped he would make him stronger, then. "Naruto."

"Hm?"

"I haven't forgotten about our match in the Chuunin Exams. One day, we'll have a rematch. The outcome will be different then." The Sharingan user let out confidently. "Get as strong as you can, cause you won't be able to keep up otherwise."

"Heh! We'll see about that, bastard!"

"Yo!"

No one greeted kakashi back. At least, not properly.

"Why is Naruto leaving the team?" Was how.

* * *

"You know… It's pretty difficult, to lead a team." Kakashi started as he approached the panting blonde. The Jounin had given his students all an assignment, separately. Naruto was not working on his assignment, so it looked. "What are you working on?"

He got a chuckle as response. "Hehe, It's a secret, sensei. Pretty tiring, though."

"Figures." The lazy teacher gave his student, soon to be former student, a one-over. "You need advice?"

Naruto gave his sensei a serious look. "Now that you mention it… I've been trying to create Fuuton Bunshin. You know anything about those?"

"I've actually… never seen those. I know how to create Raiton Bunshin; I just make sure all of the Chakra I use to create a clone is infused, completely, with Lightning. The result is a clone I usually use for diversions, although it can actually attack with Electricity, but electricity alone."

"I thought so. Here." Performing a seal, Naruto muttered "Fuuton Bunshin.", but all that was created next to Naruto was a small tornado that died out almost instantly. "I always hate the Bunshin technique. It gives me so much trouble whenever I work on one type the first time!"

Kakashi snickered. "So I see. I think… you just need to create those more often to get a feel on how much Chakra you should use for just one clone." Seeing his subordinate nod once, Kakashi turned away.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hm?" Kakashi turned his head once. His hand was actually already reaching for Icha Icha.

"Keep a good eye on Sasuke."

Staring for a few seconds, Kakashi decided to shrug. "Don't worry. I always keep a good eye on my students. Even former ones. Anything else?"

Naruto nodded his head. "Yeah. Hokage-sama told me I would get two Ninja who were from Sand and Sound… in my squad. I don't really know how to deal with that. I mean, Gaara and the others, I know I can trust them. But those two he mentioned, I don't even remember their names."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Naruto. They've been put through a serious trial, performed by Konoha's two best interrogators. Yamanaka Inoichi can infiltrate a person's mind, learning everything about them. Morino Ibiki is an interrogator, but also a torture specialist. If anyone could get past him and be proven innocent, I wouldn't be concerned about it."

"If you say so, Kakashi-sensei." The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki wasn't so easily convinced. "What if I find them… not loyal enough for Konoha? What if I think they're not to be trusted?" he pondered on something for a few seconds before he continued. "Yeah… What if I think they are an enemy to Konoha? Am I allowed to… kill them? Even if it is by Hokage's orders that they've been put on my team? Even if, as you say, they've been put through various tests to prove they mean no harm to our Village?"

"Well…" Kakashi paused as he thought about it, deciding to move his hand away from the Icha Icha novel. "If you think they're an enemy, you should report it to the Hokage. By the time you will meet them, it may have already been decided they are to be your subordinates. One of the rules in Konoha is not to kill your own. It makes perfect sense, right? I'm not allowed to kill you, even if I think you're an enemy to Konoha right now. I'll have to prove it first. Since you are already my student. I can't just go killing my students without a very, VERY, good reason."

Naruto sighed. "Of course."

"Now, then. My advice to you as a leader is: Beware of your surroundings, beware of your destination and beware of your comrades. In that order."

"Hmm." Naruto decided to write that one down. "Thanks, sensei."

"You're welcome, Naruto. I'll be off, then."

* * *

"State your purpose."

"Why the hell would I tell a brat like you, huh?"

"You'd do well to listen, outsider. My friend here is not one who kills without pause."

"Heh, don't we have two cold ones here? I thought Konoha was a warm and cozy place. Why don't you two morons turn around and start minding your own damn business!"

"You are not from Konoha. You are in Konoha now. State your purpose." Gaara repeated. His Suna Hitai-Ate was gone. In its place was a Konoha Headband, tied around his waist. Next to him stood Kinuta Dosu, joining in on the glaring on the four Kumo-nin in front of them. The former Sound Genin now also wore a Konoha Hitai-Ate.

While they were far from being loyal to Konoha, they were completely loyal to their comrade, Uzumaki Naruto.

"What if these two are important people in Konoha? What if, by ignoring their questions, a war would erupt between Kumo and Konoha? What if it's already too late to prevent it? Never bother answering their questions anymore, we should kill them right here and now, to prevent a war!"

Dosu grinned and got ready to fight and Gaara's gourd was already opened.

"Omoi, get out of the way… and put your sword away." Despite being their temporary leader, they all listened to her. "We have been invited to Konoha. There is no need for all of this."

"Invited? Why should we believe that?"

Omoi, Karui, Samui and their temporary captain, Yugito Nii, all stared up in the tree where the voice came from. They saw a blonde Kunoichi with a big Fan strapped to her back. Only Yugito and Samui had sensed her before she had spoken up. 'These are all only Genin…' Yugito surmised. 'And yet, they already are quite talented.'

"Hey, watch your mouth!"

"Karui." Yugito silenced the red-haired girl. "Our Raikage is on a visit. We are his guards."

A sudden chuckle came from behind them. Yugito's eyes widened completely. 'impossible! I didn't sense this…' She turned around. 'boy…' Samui also seemed a bit agitated as she had turned as well.

"I find that hard to believe…" Naruto let out as he folded his arms. "You four are, more likely, a backup team. I'm sure the Raikage would want stronger guards."

"W-what?" Karui was enraged and the rest didn't take well to the insult either.

Yugito gave no response other than a narrowed eye and a frown. 'Something's wrong here… He's standing right in front of me, but I still can't sense him!' She took a small whiff and realized she could still smell him. She had better senses thanks to the Bijuu inside of her. But she was alarmed. She was a sensor Shinobi, one who could sense everyone around her from at least a mile away… This kid had no Chakra around him, at all!

"You are from Kumo. Konoha and Kumo are not really on good terms with each other, are they?" Naruto shunshined to a position in front of Gaara and Dosu, making team Yugito turn back again.

'That was Shunshin… Definitely needs Chakra and a lot of speed to be executed and yet… no trace of any Chakra used.' Yugito knew enough. 'This kid's real good. To be able to suppress Chakra completely like that, even from me.'

"You are the captain, right?" Naruto asked.

Yugito realized that the three other Konoha nin behind the boy were not talking anymore. 'He's their leader.'

"Care to give me a better reason why I should not kill all of you right here?"

And then it came…

Killer Intent. She was used to it, but she was surprised that this brat could dish out this much. Samui and the others weren't ready, though… They were completely unable to move a muscle. 'This kid's wearing a Konoha Chuunin uniform. I'm a Jounin, and my underlings are all Chuunin. How does Konoha rank its Shinobi these days?' But there were more things that were strange; his own subordinates weren't affected and he didn't use ANY Chakra to release this massive thirst for blood. Which meant he could direct his Killer Intent with precision and he used something else entirely to instill fear on his opponents. What was it?

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

Oh. That comment always ticked her off.

Yugito rushed forward, intent on teaching the boy some manners, only to receive a massive blow in her face, sending her into the tree behind her. "Whoa, didn't think you'd be attacking me first." Naruto let out after that.

Gaara, Dosu and Temari all couldn't follow Naruto's movements, because he was still standing in the exact same spot as everything happened. But they were used to it from him by now. Samui, Karui and Omoi were flabbergasted. One moment Yugito was rushing forward in speed they couldn't follow, in the other moment, Yugito was lying on the ground, with pieces of a tree trunk around her.

"But now I'm allowed to attack back. Konoha will not be in any danger. I won't allow it!" Infused now with some Kyuubi Chakra, Yugito's widened greatly as she saw Naruto's eyes. Samui and the others still couldn't move as Naruto started walking towards Yugito.

Naruto was about to go all out, until Kakashi appeared beside him.

'A Konoha Jounin!' Despite being heavily hit by Naruto, Yugito was more than ready to continue the fight.

"Naruto, stand down. They are here on guard duty for their Kage. Did you instigate this?" The Copy Ninja asked his blonde student as he stared at the three Kumo Chuunin who were able to move again.

"Hey, before I did anything, they refused to answer Gaara, who wanted to know why they were here. They did answer eventually, but what they said was not really… believable. I mean, look at how easily I took care of their leader, how can they be guards for a Kage?"

Yugito had recovered and was walking back again. 'That's the Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi. And he called the kid… Naruto, right?' She chose to rebuke Naruto's comment. "You caught me off guard, brat. That won't happen again."

"Yeah, sure…" Naruto turned away from her and her team. "Let's head out." He ordered his fresh team. "See you later, Kakashi-sensei."

"Ha… " he waved over his shoulder. "My apologies for his behavior. He doesn't take well to anything that might endanger the safety of Konoha."

Karui looked at the Konoha Jounin, and then at the retreating backs of Team Naruto. 'I can't believe he bested Yugito-sensei in that little squabble.'

Omoi put a hand on her shoulder as he stood beside her. "He was probably lucky. I mean, Yugito-sensei kicks ass once she really gets going."

"Perhaps." The third member of team Yugito, Samui, spoke up for the first time. "but he's strong. I think… we were lucky."

Kakashi frowned at Yugito's subordinates. "Well, get ready to get to know them better. They will be with you during your stay in Konoha."

Kumo's Jinchuuriki nodded her head. 'He's probably a Jinchuuriki too, judging from those eyes of his just then… Time to gather some information, their ranks are totally different than ours…' She sighed and started some minor healing Jutsu on her face. "We'll be heading off, then, Kakashi-san."

"Of course." Kakashi watched them from the corner of his eye as they walked away. 'They'll have it pretty hard.'

* * *

"So Oto and Suna attacked Konoha, but Konoha is… completely unscathed." The Raikage was seated in the Hokage's office, opposite of the Hokage. "I must say, that's pretty good… I take it you knew beforehand?"

"That's a logical assumption." Hiruzen replied. "We had heard rumors about an attack, so we tightened security. But that is all we did."

"Two Countries attack you and you're unharmed. It really is impressive." The Raikage, also referred to as 'A', continued. "I've come here to talk about… certain suspicions I have."

"Suspicions? What do you mean?"

"You've heard of an organization called 'Akatsuki', I'm sure." Seeing the older man nod, A continued. "S-Ranked Criminals, all Missing-nin." The Third had heard as much from Jiraiya. "Now, it has come to my attention that Orochimaru is a member of the Akatsuki. So… did Suna and Oto use Orochimaru and thus, Akatsuki, to attack Konoha?"

"I've heard Orochimaru was the leader of Oto. I've also heard he was in Akatsuki, but that he had run away from the organization."

The Raikage raised an eyebrow. "He ran away? Someone like Orochimaru?"

"It's what my intel brought me."

"So it's not really a fact that he left. They truly might have hired Akatsuki, then. I have more information concerning Akatsuki being used… by Earth Country. And rumors have it its roots lie in Kirigakure."

"You seem to have a lot of information, Raikage-dono." Hiruzen responded. "I take it you're going somewhere with this?"

The younger Kage of the two nodded once. "I have information regarding Akatsuki, but I believe you do, too. I've received word that the organization is after the Bijuu. So they're after all the Jinchuuriki. I have two under my command. You have at least one, I believe. I know not what happened 14 years ago, but I don't believe something like the Kyuubi can be killed. But, my sensor Shinobi have not sensed a Jinchuuriki-like presence in Konoha."

Hiruzen smiled. With Naruto so able to suppress his Chakra thanks to his outfit he wouldn't be traceable. And with Gaara and the Gogyou Fuuin on his stomach, the same could be said. "So, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying you can hide your Shinobi well. My information gatherers are not ignorant, Hokage-dono… We've heard of Suna's Jinchuuriki, Sabaku no Gaara. How he turned from Sunagakure to Konohagakure. He is definitely the Ichibi Jinchuuriki. But Konoha is also housing the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki."

The Sandaime raised an eyebrow. "You make a lot of assumptions, Raikage-dono."

"Look." A folded his arms. "We have the Nibi Jinchuuriki and the Hachibi Jinchuuriki, which you probably already knew. This organization is after my Shinobi and after yours. I don't really trust Kirigakure or Iwagakure, because of their involvements with this Akatsuki. The alliance between Konoha and Suna has been broken due to the invasion and Suna is also involved with Akatsuki. I'm guessing you know by now where I'm going with this?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were offering an Alliance?"

The Raikage gave the Third a serious look. "Yes. But I have a demand. One demand."

The Third chuckled, ignoring his initial surprise. "You speak as if we've already consented. I alone can not decide whether Kumo and Konoha will be allied forces."

"True. But when you have your meeting with your council, I want you to let my demand be known."

The monkey summoner nodded. "Which is?"

"I want Danzo."

* * *

TBC

Just so you guys know… I don't like the Kumo Squad, though I do like Samui. I don't like the Raikage either, for brushing off Naruto like that. Naruto should have just gone into Sage Mode and kick all their asses back then. Force them to back the fuck off.

Just my two cents. Hope you liked this chappy! Seeya!

Oh! If anyone knows how to create easy-for-the-eyes scene breaks for FFN, please let me know! And I kinda suck at summaries, so I'm working on a new one for this story...


	12. Ride To Freedom

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto.

Author's Notes: No Notes, No Pre-Reader

* * *

He remembered the days he spent jumping from rooftop to rooftop, overlooking things, making sure nothing went wrong in his village. Days where he would become one with the shadows so no one, not even the ANBU, would notice his presence.

All for the sake of him. Or them.

The Yondaime Hokage had entrusted him with the task of keeping his son safe and he'd be damned if anything were to happen to the child. He chuckled to himself that Kushina would probably force herself out of being dead just to kill him if he didn't do his job right. Yeah, he wouldn't be surprised if she managed to do that.

Of course, there were times where he couldn't watch Naruto, as he was the Hokage. But his special orb made up for most of it, his orb through which he could view the entire village.

So, he watched the boy grow into a fine Shinobi, but… never would he have imagined him to be the only one turning Chuunin of his graduating class. He had truly grown in an… alarming… rate.

The Rookie Chuunin now stood in front of him, with his team behind him. Kankurou would be joining his team for this mission.

"I'm sure you'll find this mission quite a hassle, but I assure you, you will like the rewards." The aging professor of Shinobi started.

"S-Rank pay?" Naruto asked. The blonde's subordinates still weren't very comfortable around the Third Hokage, seeing that they haven't been Konoha-nins for very long, so they were always quiet in the Hokage's office.

"Naruto will be the only one who gets paid for this one, but I'm afraid it won't be S-rank, Naruto." He had to hold back a grin as he saw the others, who weren't going to be paid, frown. "It's not like you won't get paid." He addressed the others beside Naruto. "More like, your pay has already been invested in something. You'll be receiving places of your own this week. Apartments, in the same complex as Naruto's."

Naruto liked where this was going. He didn't mind the company at all, but there were times where he wanted to be alone. Times where he could go fully out with his training, without anyone to see. "So, what's the mission, old man?"

"Help the Team from Kumo during the Raikage's stay in Konoha."

"Help? Help them do what?"

"Help them if they need help, but more importantly, I want you to watch them."

"Just watch them? Wow, that's an easy mission." The Chuunin tilted his head. "What rank is this mission, old man?"

Hiruzen regarded the blonde shortly. "B-rank, really. Kumo-nins aren't really liked by the majority of Konoha, so perhaps there will be situations where you'll have to stop someone from Konoha who will try to harm them."

"What? Why would someone try to harm them?" Naruto asked.

"You… really haven't been paying attention during the Academy, huh, Naruto?"

* * *

**Aerial Perspective**  
_Chapter 11: Ride To Freedom_

_

* * *

_

The Third pondered the Raikage's words as he sat at his desk. Where the leader of the Cloud had demands, the Third also had demands. Taking in consideration the last alliance Fire had with Lightning, Hiruzen knew he had the right to call in more demands than the other. But he actually only had one in mind.

To let Naruto and his team stay in Kumo for a week and 'learn' of the Village from the inside. This of course would be allowed, since the Raikage would have them all watched. But Naruto had his Fuuin Bunshin now. Those couldn't even be sensed by Sensor-nin. And he knew for a fact that Kumo didn't have Shinobi like the Hyuga, the Aburame or the Inuzuka… superior tracker-nin… So to send in Naruto was perfect. With this, the blonde would get past the Barrier that was protecting every Village, get inside and infiltrate without worry.

Perfect.

He would know everything about Kumo.

The Fire leader nodded his head as he started listing the things he wanted Naruto to find out while he would be there.

* * *

Since the mission wasn't so hard, Naruto decided to do it half-assed. As far as he knew, the Raikage would only be staying here a few days. So he split up his own team in groups. He would be with Gaara, while the other group was Dosu, Temari and Kankurou.

At the moment, he and Gaara weren't watching the Kumo team. Of course, Naruto did leave a few Fuuin Bunshin around the other half of his team. But now, Gaara and he were somewhere else entirely.

The Valley of The End.

"Why are we here, Naruto?" The Shukaku Jinchuuriki asked as he and Naruto were walking through the woods.

The Chuunin of the two gave a short chuckle of amusement. "To train, of course. Since you're a Jinchuuriki like I am, I think we're best suited to train with one another, right? We can help each other."

Gaara didn't know what to train in considering his captive Bijuu, but shrugged nonetheless.

"I've learned something interesting, Gaara." The blonde started with a vicious grin. "You're going to love it. I couldn't show you this before, because we weren't… true… comrades before. But now I can help you." He stopped walking and Gaara followed suit. "The thing is, this thing we're going to do is going to unleash a massive load of Chakra. Mainly, yours. So I don't want to be too close to Konoha when we do this."

"What do you mean?" The redhead didn't understand at all.

"The Gogyou Fuuin on your stomach is something I meant to be temporarily. I have a permanent solution." Naruto watched Gaara nod. "We're going to fight the Shukaku, together. I've learned how to completely overtake the Kyuubi. You and me are going to overtake the Shukaku. Before we do that, though, you're going to have to do a few things."

"We're going to fight the Shukaku?" Gaara was a confident guy, he knew he was strong. But he was no fool, there was no way he could take on a Bijuu…

"Gaara." Naruto started to reassure him. "Don't worry, I've got the Kyuubi on my side, kind of."

The redhead swallowed slowly, not sure of what to say.

"Now, for this to work, you're going to go through a trial." The blonde started walking again. "Which is why we're here. In Kumo, they have a place similar to this. Where you can face yourself." The former Suna-nin started following after the blonde again. Naruto moved through a few bushes to reach the edge of a cliff. In the distance they could see the waterfall between the two stone statues. The statues of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. "That's… a Waterfall of Truth… Kaigan no Hisen. A place where you will face the… evil… you."

"Evil?" Gaara repeated.

Naruto smiled a small, sad smile. "Not necessarily evil. But for you, it'll probably be familiar. You'll face the hatred inside you, to overcome it. When I first met you, I think you let that side of you overrule you." He paused. "This will be hard, mental-wise, but it needs to be done before we can face the Shukaku."

While two of his Fuuin Bunshin, twenty-or so Kage Bunshin and few normal Bunshin were watching over Gaara as he was seated in front of the Waterfall of Truth, Naruto himself decided to get some training in. Training with no privy eyes.

He was a bit worried about Gaara and even about facing the Shukaku, but he remembered when his future self let him do the same.

_FLASHBACK_

_He knew he wasn't really alright with how the villagers all regarded him. He always laughed it off, saying it was ok to be alone. To hated and ignored. The be considered a demon, scum and worse. But he was far from alright with it. And this proved it._

"_**You should burn the entire village down to the ground."**_

_He had those thoughts, many times. _

"_**You should murder every single villager and Shinobi with your utmost attention, murder them slowly and make them suffer as long as possible."**_

_Yup, he recognized what he was hearing as he was watching his own reflection standing in front of him. Namikaze-sensei told him this was another part of himself. A part that hid inside of him. The hatred, deep inside of him._

"_**You know I'm right and you agree with me."**_

_And he DID agree with him, somewhat. He at least understood why his other half was saying these things. But he now knew who his parents were, he knew what his destiny was, he knew what kind of power resided within him. He also knew that the part of him that was standing in front of him, was not only his hatred._

_It was everything he denied to let out. The figure in front of him held his most deepest secrets and emotions. And just like him, he had nowhere to release it. So he spoke back._

"_Let's do it together. We shouldn't be ignoring ourselves any longer."_

_And then he had to fight the Kyuubi. He had to use everything he had to defeat the Bijuu. His Maton Ninjutsu, several Kinjutsu, Fuuton Ninjutsu, his Senjutsu and so, so much Chakra. Even then, the Kyuubi had the upper hand. But he wasn't alone in this._

_His future self was lending him a hand, throwing a casual Rasen Shuriken every now and then and keeping the Kyuubi busy while the younger Naruto would pull with all his might at the Kyuubi's Chakra._

_He eventually did get all of the Kyuubi's Chakra and he and his future self stood in front of a Chakra depleted Kyuubi. A defeated Bijuu._

"_**So what now?"**__ The voice of a demon boomed over them. __**"Victory seems to be yours… at the moment. But that Chakra will eventually come back to me."**_

"_You're wrong." And then something happened that made the Kyuubi widen his eyes. The older-looking Naruto summoned a scroll out of thin air and turned it so the Kyuubi could see the content written on it. "This is a key. A key for Naruto's Shiki Fuuin. Now, we've obviously already used this key to open the door of your cage. This key has three functions, though. It can become a source for lingering Chakra. Mainly, the Chakra you've just given Naruto."_

"_**What?"**_

_Since the Kyuubi was powerless without its Chakra, the future Naruto threw several Rasen Shuriken the Kyuubi's way, forcing the Kyuubi to jump back a bit. And then the great Fox found himself locked in a cage again. A different cage than before. "I'm sorry I have to do this, Kyuubi. In time, I'll hopefully find a way to release you without anyone getting hurt." The future Naruto hoped his younger self would. "This key can also moderate the seal." The older Naruto looked a bit sad. "Naruto, we're done here."_

_The younger Naruto was glowing with a massive amount of Chakra around him, but it didn't faze the older one bit. "We have a lot to discuss now that you have access to all of the Kyuubi's Chakra."_

_END FLASHBACK_

'Man, Namikaze-sensei is so powerful…' Naruto thought as he remembered the fight with the Kyuubi. He also recalled the conversation he had with his future self AFTER that fight.

The Kyuubi was an entity full of hatred, but he too, was part of a grander scheme…

The blonde wasn't in Sage mode as he formed a Rasen Shuriken and aimed it at the sky. "I can already throw it without being in Sage mode… But can I turn it up a notch?"

As he threw the Chakra Shuriken skywards, he immediately performed a seal. "Fuuton: Kage Rasen Shuriken!"

And then he saw nothing but blackness.

* * *

Handseals flashed in the middle of the night and the result was a small campfire. They had just finished a mission and were already returning back to their village. The Mission was a simple C-Ranked one.

Hatake Kakashi sat down in front of the fire and watched his students do the same. "Sai will start first watch, the rest of us will get some sleep until we've all had our turns. After Sai, it's Sasuke's turn, then Sakura and finally, me."

Sakura slightly glared at Sai, before lying down in her sleeping bag. 'I wish I was the first to stand watch.' The first to have guard duty would have the longest sleep without having to be awoken. The pink-haired Kunoichi turned towards Kakashi. "Ne, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi opened his single eye, just barely visible to Sakura thanks to the fire.

"Have you heard anything about Naruto?" She asked. Sasuke didn't turn in his sleeping bag, but he was curious about it, too.

'Well, there's nothing that's classified, so I can tell them everything I know.' Of course, the things about Naruto that WERE classified, Kakashi didn't know himself either. "What do you want to know?"

"What's he doing now?"

The veteran Shinobi nodded his head. "Well, he has guard duty in Konoha."

"That sounds pretty simple. I figured he would be getting dangerous missions outside of Konoha." Sakura surmised as she twisted her feet in and over each other in her sleeping bag.

"While it might not be very dangerous, it is very important. The Raikage is currently staying in the Leaf Village, and Naruto's team is in charge of guarding and watching the Raikage's guards."

Sakura let out an impressed sound.

"Naruto's team? Who's in his team?" Both Sakura and Kakashi were surprised that Sasuke had asked the question. They both figured the Uchiha was already asleep.

"As far as I know…" Kakashi seemed to think. "It's those former Suna-nin, the Sabaku siblings, don't know if they're all in his team, though… and that former Sound Genin, that bandaged guy. I don't really remember his name, though."

"Kinuta Dosu." Sasuke finished. He wouldn't forget how Dosu and those two other Sound-nin had defeated him in the Forest of Death.

"Yeah, and those Sabaku are Gaara, Temari and Kankurou." Sakura added. 'They're all pretty strong…'

"So, who's their instructor?" Sasuke continued.

"Naruto is." Kakashi answered as if it was most obvious thing in the world. "Those others are still Genin."

Sakura's and Sasuke's eyes were wide open as they tried to digest this information.

"I've also heard that his team isn't complete yet." Kakashi let the silence linger for a moment. After a while, he decided to motivate Sasuke further with his training and added "Also… he was asked to join the ANBU a few weeks ago. He had a trial he aced perfectly, but he declined."

'….' Even in his head, Sasuke was completely speechless and Sakura was much the same.

"That's all I know. I haven't talked that much with him ever since the Chuunin Exams. It seems you two haven't either."

They were both silent as they contemplated the statement. "Ne, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura whispered. "What about this Sai? He's really strange."

The Copy-nin pondered a bit whether or not to share the information he had on Sai. "Well… He's a former ANBU."

Again, his two students were speechless. Sasuke knew Sai was higher ranked than Genin, but… ANBU? The Uchiha grinned. Yes, he would have to surpass this weird Ink guy. He would be one step closer to crushing Itachi…

* * *

A week had passed and Naruto and Gaara were slowly walking through the gates granting entrance to the Leaf. Gaara looked different, a lot different. He no longer had the gourd on his back and he seemed less… tense. Well, a little. A few days ago, six to be exact, Naruto had told Temari, Kankurou and Dosu that he and Gaara would be gone for a few days in regards to helping Gaara with a new technique. The blonde would be leaving a Shadow Clone of him and a Henged Shadow Clone of Gaara so it wouldn't be too suspicious.

And now, the duo were headed for the others, ready to let them go home so they could guard the Kumo team for the last two days they'd be staying in Konoha. Apparently, the Raikage was just about ready with his business in Konoha.

Naruto looked sideways and grinned at Gaara, who didn't notice. The blonde had given the redhead the same outfit he was wearing. Naruto had slightly changed his appearance, but all the seals were still the same. Now that he was a Chuunin, he had to change his outfit slightly. He implemented his Chuunin Vest with the same seals as his old vest. His Chuunin Vest was dark red, though. His fingerless gloves were still black, as were his pants, that now reached just above his ankles. He had dark red sandals, with a few new seals on them and he now had two dark red sheaths on his back for swords that weren't in it.

Gaara knew Naruto only had one sword, so he never did understand why the blonde had two sheaths. And if the blonde had to give an answer to the question 'Why two?', he wouldn't have the answer either.

But of the two, Gaara changed his appearance more. He now wore the same outfit as Naruto, with a lot less seals. Now that he and the Shukaku were on better terms with one another, which was very different than Naruto's relationship with the Kyuubi, Gaara's Chakra Presence grew significantly. Naruto saw no other way than to force his special Shinobi Outfit on Gaara. Which made him invisible even to Sensor-nin.

And the absence of the Gourd? It was simple, he didn't need it anymore. His Shield of Sand AND his armor of Sand were now automatic and drew Sand from around him, not from the Gourd. But where Naruto's outfit was black and dark red, Gaara's was black and dark brown.

The two may have no Chakra presence thanks to their outf

its, but everyone knew they were not to be messed with as they walked without a care in the world.

Naruto had told him about the Akatsuki. Gaara didn't like it that an organization was after them for their Bijuu, so he decided to train as hard as he could as well. Naruto had named Gaara second in command in his team and he would be a damn powerful second in command.

"Guh-Gaara?"

The Shukaku Jinchuuriki grinned at Temari, which didn't go by unnoticed. Even after the siblings came across Naruto, Gaara rarely smiled. _**'Haha, your sister's completely dumbstruck, Gaara-chan!'**_

'Hush, Shukaku. And I'd prefer you call me just Gaara, remember?'

'_**Not gonna happen, human.'**_

Gaara snarled as he heard the Shukaku laugh at him in his head. 'Damn raccoon.'

"Where's your gourd, Gaara?" Kankurou asked as he stepped in line with Temari.

"I have no need for it anymore." Gaara answered.

Dosu stepped on the other side of Temari. "Interesting. You now have the exact same presence as Naruto. It's the outfit, I assume?"

Naruto shot the former Sound-nin an amused glance. "How do you know?"

"Several frequencies." The bandaged nin seemed thoughtful. "It erases a lot of things, but not sound nor smell. That outfit, it proves very advantageous."

The blonde grinned at Dosu. "You guys want it, too?"

"I kinda like the way I look now." The puppeteer of the group frowned.

The Kumo team was elsewhere at the moment, but Naruto had already sent many Fuuin Bunshin and Kage Bunshin transformed as them after them. "Seriously, Kankurou? With all the make-up and stuff?" Naruto chuckled.

"It's not make-up, bastard!"

"You have more, then?" The sound user asked as he ignored the squabble and took one step forward, slightly interested.

"Nope." Kyuubi's vessel answered. "I can make it so that your current outfits have the same attributes as mine. Just hand me your clothes and stuff and I'll fix it for all of them. After you wash them, though, I'll have to redo it."

Temari seemed satisfied with that and Kankurou even more. "Good, your outfit is dandy and all, but I like mine better."

"So it's Fuuinjutsu." Dosu concluded. "Intriguing. That Orochimaru was never any good with those arts."

"Anyway, drop off sets of your clothes at my place tomorrow, since all of you now have a place of your own." Naruto ordered. "For now, Gaara and me are going to babysit the Kumo team. You guys go get some rest or go train or something."

Temari gave Gaara one last meaningful glance. A glance of pride and respect. She quickly followed after Dosu and Kankurou, who were chatting away.

"Heh… We're pretty awesome, Gaara."

The redhead couldn't help but chuckle. "Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto. For everything."

Gaara hadn't felt this good… in a very long time. He had a home now, family and even friends. And he felt stronger than ever.

* * *

Ever since the Chuunin Exams, she hadn't been taking it easy. She trained more and more, but still had trouble against her teammates. Shino, in particular. At the moment, she was seated against a tree, panting wildly, while Kurenai was standing next to her, observing the spar between Kiba and Shino with the utmost attention.

Kiba and Akamaru were a lot faster than Shino, as they were jumping around the bug user with ease, whilst being mindful of the bugs Shino was spreading around. "Tcheh! You should know by now I can tell when there's a bug on me!"

"…" Shino wasn't standing still either, though. Kiba was a vexing opponent for him, but one who made him stronger. Kiba couldn't get too close to Shino, without risking getting too many draining bugs on him. But Shino, in turn, would always have to watch out for that disgusting Pee Attack from Akamaru, or the occasional Gatsuuga that would rip through the clearing. Which was nothing Shino couldn't handle of course.

Kurenai smirked at her students, as they seemed to be about equal.

And then she flinched as Naruto and Gaara walked by her, being careful not to disturb the spar. The Genjutsu mistress hadn't sensed them approaching at all!

"Nuh-Naruto-kun!"

The Uzumaki and the Sabaku stopped walking to turn and look at Hinata. Naruto nodded at her with a genuine smile on his face. "Hinata! How's it going?"

"A-ah…." Hinata gathered some courage. "I-I'm fine. How are you, Naruto-kun?"

"Never better!" The blonde replied, before he pointed at Gaara with his thumb. "This here's Gaara. Perhaps you remember him, from the Chuunin Exams?"

"Y-yes, nice to meet you, Gaara-kun, I am Hyuga Hinata!" She bowed politely.

Kiba and Shino had stopped sparring and were watching the interactions. They were surprised, however, as they saw Gaara bow in return, once. "Likewise, Hinata-san."

'I've heard about Naruto getting his own team…' Kurenai mused. 'It seems this Gaara has turned out for the better.'

"Whoa, they seem like really good friends, huh, Shino?" Kiba whispered to his teammate as they stood a small distance away from the others. Their team had watched how Gaara had slaughtered a team from the Rain in the Forest of Death. They had also heard the redhead say they would go after Uzumaki Naruto after that.

Shino, at the time, had spoken to the Fuuin Bunshin which was supposedly protecting them during the Forest of Death test and asked him if he knew that Gaara, who was still a Sand Shinobi back then, was after him.

They never did get an answer for that one.

But now they saw the two of them being friends.

"He sure knows who to pick as friends." The dog user gestured for Akamaru to follow him to where the others were standing.

Shino stayed where he stood, frowning at both Gaara and Naruto. 'They both seem without Chakra… But my bugs know better.'

"Yo, Naruto! How's life?" The Inuzuka yelled as he joined the others. "You're a Chuunin now, right?"

"Yeah, life's great!" The blonde replied, giving a thumbs up. "How's training?"

Kiba gave him a sour look, nodding his backwards, at where the bug user was still standing. "Training with Shino is always so annoying."

"Keep it up and you're gonna sound like Shikamaru." Naruto joked.

"Naruto-kun." Naruto was surprised as Kurenai was the one who asked for his attention. "If you still wish, I can help you with your Genjutsu now. I've found myself with spare time ever since the Chuunin Exams."

Naruto leveled a mild glare at the woman for the shortest of moments, but let it swim away from his face. "Thanks, I guess… But I already have someone working with me on that." He grumbled a bit and continued mumbling something about awkward situations. "Gaara, let's go."

"For what it's worth, I apologize for not being able to help you before."

Kiba suddenly was reminded how Naruto came looking for their sensei's help months ago and turned from his teacher to the duo walking away to see Naruto wave his arm over his shoulder. "Yeah, whatever."

"Hey, she apologized, Naruto!" Kiba yelled, standing up for his teacher.

Naruto turned and sent a red-eyed glare Kiba's way, which made the Dog-like boy flinch, before turning back around. "Like I said, whatever."

"It's ok, Kiba." Kurenai put a hand on her subordinate's shoulder. "Naruto-kun has had it…. pretty rough. I understand his response."

"What do you mean, he's had it rough?" Kiba was glaring at the retreating backs of Gaara and Naruto as Shino joined them. 'What the hell? His eyes seemed red just then!'

"Do you remember how you treated him when he asked me for help, Kiba? How you said he had no friends? How you seemed to hate him, even?" Kurenai watched realization hit Kiba's face. "Well… You weren't the only one who felt that way about him."

"Everyone felt that way." Shino continued the explanation. "I have observed. He is hated for reasons unknown to me. But if I were to say… I don't think he deserves such hate for simple pranks he performed during his… younger days."

Kurenai nodded, seeing how Shino understood he wasn't hated because of the pranks, but because of something else entirely. "Correct, Shino." Was all she said to confirm Shino's silent question.

The Aburame nodded his head, his deduction skills were top-notch, as always.

"N-Naruto-kun…"

Shino, Kiba and even Kurenai were surprised to see Hinata suddenly running after the duo. "W-wait, Hinata!" Kiba went to jump after her, but was stopped by Kurenai.

"Let her go. I think this could be interesting." Their teacher said. She shook her head at Shino, who still sent a few bugs after Hinata. 'It's good that he's protective of his team.'

* * *

"Nuh-Naruto-kun!"

The two Jinchuuriki were already having a conversation away from team eight, when Hinata was nearing them. "Hinata? What's wrong?" Naruto turned, giving the female Hyuga his full attention.

Hinata turned red. This was probably the first time she ever had Naruto looking at her like this. "A-ano…"

Naruto then noticed Hinata had changed a bit. She seemed a bit more confident in her appearance. Her dark blue hair now reached just below her shoulders and her bangs still covering the upper half of her eyes. "You look good, Hinata." He calmly let out, not realizing what those words would mean to Hinata, who turned even more red now. "Are you alright?" Seeing Hinata's face, he figured she'd caught a cold or something.

"We're on our way to a mission right now. You wanna join us, Hinata? It's boring guard duty and no one ever told me I couldn't bring more people with me, so…"

Hinata looked up to see Naruto staring at her, while Gaara had his arms folded over one another, also staring at her. "A-ah, Y-yes!"

"Maybe you can tell me what you wanted to say to me on the way, eh?" Naruto smiled as he turned again. "Let's go!"

* * *

As soon as Naruto, Gaara and Hinata landed on a roof of the building where the Kumo nins were residing in, the Kage Bunshin Naruto had created, henged into his current team, was dispelled on the opposite building. The blonde had made his Kage Bunshin transform into his own team to make it look like he was still doing his mission.

Now he was just really doing it.

"Hey, now that you're here, Hinata… Could you use Byakugan to see what these Kumo Shinobi are doing in their own apartment?" The Chuunin asked.

"Y-yes!" After a moment's hesitation. "Byakugan!"

Gaara chose to sit down on the edge of the building and watched villagers do their daily business down in the streets.

"O-one of them is still s-sleeping. The male of the team." Hinata started. "The two women are talking to each other."

"You know… I was always wondering if a Hyuga could read lips. Can you, Hinata?" After watching her shake her head, Naruto continued. "It might come in handy, especially since you have that Byakugan." He then realized something. "Wait a minute, two women? Where's the third?"

"B-behind us." Hinata answered, slightly afraid.

Naruto and Gaara calmly turned their heads. "You're not the only once capable of sneaking up on someone." Yugito narrowed her eyes at the three of them. "You two haven't been watching us for quite some time." The Nekomata Jinchuuriki let out, addressing both Naruto and Gaara. "I can easily distinguish a clone from a real Shinobi, boy."

Naruto grinned at her, while Gaara turned back to the street below. Hinata didn't know how to act, but deactivated her Byakugan. "It seems I can't sense the other either now." Naruto saw she was talking about Gaara as she nodded towards him. "You have an interesting team, Uzumaki Naruto. Raikage-sama is almost finished with his business here in Konoha."

"You seem to be wanting something, Nii Yugito." The blonde reacted, walking up to the slightly taller Kumo Kunoichi. When they received their mission, Naruto learned all their full names.

"A spar. Your team against my team."

"You wish to see how Konoha ranks its Shinobi? Or do you want to find out what skills my team possesses?" The blonde retorted. "I don't see why I should agree to this. I don't trust you."

A chuckle followed. "Of course you don't." She wanted to say more, but Naruto continued to speak.

"My team is consistent of Genin, yours of Chuunin. Why would you even suggest something like this in the first place?"

"it intrigues me… Your team seems… oddly put together." Yugito answered honestly. "Kumo already has a lot of intel on Konoha, and I assume it's the same the other way around. I'm not interested in finding out more. I'm interested in why they put all of the… remnants of the invasion… under your command."

"Remnants?" Naruto repeated.

"The children of the Kazekage…" Yugito grinned as Gaara turned his head, at least a bit interested now. "And an Oto-nin."

The blonde Chuunin snarled. "Are you-"

Gaara all of a sudden cut him off. "Uzumaki-taichou."

'He called me Captain?' Inwardly, Naruto frowned.

"I will face her team, alone."

The Kumo Jounin snorted. "You think you can face three Chuunin by yourself? Trust me, I know of your… specialties, but that doesn't matter."

With 'specialties', she definitely meant Jinchuuriki. Naruto narrowed his eyes. 'She knows… Does she know I am one, too?'

"We will see. I have never been defeated by anyone except Uzumaki-taichou. I hardly believe anyone can defeat me as I am now."

"Pfoo… You've got a lot of arrogance, boy." Yugito whistled, and while Naruto had to agree, he understood. Managing to overcome your Bijuu was no small feat, and Gaara really did feel like he was on top of the world. "Alright, if you insist… My team versus one of your subordinates." She smirked like a cat.

"All of your subordinates carry the same rank as I. Three Chuunin versus Gaara? I don't think that's fair."

"Hey, he suggested it." Her smirk didn't vanish.

Naruto suddenly smirked back. "No, I mean, perhaps you should help your subordinates. I have faith in Gaara. But to make things interesting…. How about a bet?"

* * *

Samui didn't like it, not one bit. Their temporary teacher wanted them to face off against a subordinate of a Chuunin? The three of them, against a Genin? She frowned at the red-haired boy standing a small distance in front of them. He looked intimidating, but… his rank was still Genin.

But she was never one to underestimate. His leader, the Chuunin named Naruto, was sitting on a tree branch, reading a scroll. A female had come along, her eyes a dead giveaway of her being a Hyuga. Unlike her two teammates, Samui prepared herself as if she was going to face off against a strong opponent.

"I don't think I have to use my sword for this, eh, Omoi?" Karui grinned. "I was hoping I could smash this kid's face in. Ever since that day he talked back to us!"

Omoi nodded his head once, agreeing. He didn't understand why Yugito arranged for this, but he never did mind some extra practice. Perhaps this was secretly a test given to them by Killer Bee, who was watching from somewhere? Something like… don't pick on the weak! … Since their opponent now was a Genin?

"Oy!" Karui yelled to Naruto. "I think you'd better back him up!"

"No. I will defeat the three of you by myself." Gaara's voice was a dead as they remembered it being.

"Fine…" Karui grumbled, not liking Gaara's dead stare. "Ready to get your ass kicked?"

Samui stayed back, a bit, knowing Karui would rush in, like always. Omoi would back her up.

"Come." Gaara kept his arms folded over one another.

Karui rushed forward in impressive speed, flanked by Omoi. To their surprise, Gaara dissipated into sand and a sandstorm was raging around them. "Genjutsu?" Karui asked out loud.

"Well, then we're both in the same one." Omoi replied, grabbing his sword all of a sudden. "Samui's not in here."

"Shit, there's no escape from this." The Kunoichi commented.

Suddenly from behind them, a huge wave of Sand descended upon them. "Crap!" Omoi yelled, infusing his sword with electricity. "Shasen!"

Karui quickly followed Omoi through the opening in the sand he had created… only to find themselves into a dome of sand, which closed as the opening that Omoi created before closed again. "Heh, your technique is weak against lightning, sand user." Omoi grinned as he infused his sword with lightning again.

Karui also grabbed her sword, doing the same as Omoi.

And then the dome came crashing down on them, with the pressure of an avalanche.

Samui, who was on the outside, had watched as her two teammates were surrounded by a tornado of Sand and moments later, both of them unconscious on the ground. 'His abilities are of a high magnitude, I can't let myself be hit or trapped by them…' She looked around, to realize Gaara was nowhere to be found.

And then they came…. Twenty Gaara's came ascending from the ground, all Sand Clones, equipped with hardened sand spears, aimed at her. "You have no chance of victory against me."

Yugito's eyes were widened. 'They can't do anything… He's too overwhelming…' She turned her head to Naruto. 'And he's even stronger…' She looked at the proud Samui. 'But Samui is close to Jounin Level… You'd better not underestimate her…'

Gaara's eyes widened a bit as Samui suddenly vanished. 'Bunshin?' But he wasn't worried, he wasn't really there, either, after all.

His sand clones didn't have any target now, but were all prepared to spear anything around them.

"It seems the real one isn't here…" Samui's voice slightly startled Gaara, who was hiding underground.

'Genjutsu… Clones won't succumb to illusions, after all… She found out.' Gaara grinned, wondering how the sand clones would be dealt with, when all of a sudden, the ground rumbled. Specifically the area where he was hiding in. 'Chakra?'

A few inches above him, Samui was piercing the ground with her sword, sending Lightning Chakra down, to reach the hiding Gaara.

That was when all the Sand Clones exploded into a hundred spears, all directed at the attacking Samui. But the Kunoichi easily pivoted around all the attacks, while her sword remained in the ground. As she was dodging Gaara's Clones' attacks, she also performed a single seal. "Raiton, Ochi Unagi!"

Gaara gritted his teeth as electricity raced through his body. 'She can activate her sword from a distance, to attack?' The attack lacked power, though, so Gaara easily overcame it. The Shukaku holder erupted from out of the ground, still looking completely fresh, to see Samui a few feet in front of him, her sword back in her hands.

His sand clones had all evaporated already. "Interesting."

'He's unharmed. I sent quite some Chakra through my sword… This is a Genin? It's hard enough to attack him directly.' The blonde Kumo ninja thought as she readied herself again.

Gaara smiled and did a single handseal. "Suna Shigure."

Yugito had already looked skywards to see a cloud of sand above Samui, which seemed to rain down upon said girl. Samui rushed towards Gaara and planned to slash her sword across Gaara's chest, only to see a shield of Sand stop her attack. 'His Sand Rain attack follows me wherever I go, even towards himself.' She realized. 'This shield of sand is protecting him either way.'

Jumping back and avoiding more droplets of sand, she quickly infused her sword with electricity again. 'This should penetrate that shield of his.'

Suddenly, the rain stopped and Gaara didn't have his arms folded over one another. "You're the only one who seems to have gotten past my warming up. Your two other teammates were quite… abysmal." Gaara got into a stance. "I'll fight seriously now."

Samui readied herself.

Naruto, still on the tree branch, had put the book he was reading away. He didn't expect anyone to get this far against Gaara… This Samui was pretty good. But it was impossible for her to continue this now. "She's pretty good."

Yugito whipped her head back, surprised to find Naruto behind her. 'He's the only one who can sneak up on me…' Just a split second before, he was still on that same tree branch, still reading that book Icha Icha. "So is he. I didn't expect him to… so easily deal with the others. Samui is something else, though…"

Naruto shrugged. "We'll see."

On the battlefield, Samui eyed her opponent carefully. 'He's changed his stance. He's not going to stand still now.' The blonde chose to rush forward, or, let her shadow rush forward, a quick Bunshin. It was so quick, too quick, so it looked as if she herself was rushing forward.

To her surprise, out of Gaara's stomach, came a humongous claw of… Sand with markings? It ripped through her Bunshin and headed straight for her. Shaking herself out of her stupor, Samui quickly jumped over the Claw of Sand and threw a few explosive tags Gaara's way.

But the real Gaara's wasn't there… Samui looked back to see Gaara materializing out of the Claw of Sand. As her explosive tags went off on the replicate Gaara, she used all her might to slice through another wave of sand headed for her. If it wasn't for the fact she infused her sword with lightning chakra, she would've been hit.

Descending, Samui looked up to see Gaara float on a cloud of sand, while Gaara's previous attacks were all still in mid-air. She was surrounded by huge shapes of sand around her. The precious Claw of Sand was slowly falling to the ground.

And then, everything changed. Her world turned completely dark. All of Gaara's previous attacks seemed to melt into one around her.

Yugito's eyes widened at the massive dome Gaara had created. The dome he had created mid-air… A dome covered with weird blue markings.

"It's over." Came Naruto's voice. "She's in Gaara's world now. The walls she might lean against, the ground she stands on, the ceiling she sees… Everything is his in there."

"He's a Jinchuuriki… I knew of him, but I didn't think he would be this… good at controlling the Bijuu's Chakra. And I think you are one, as well, a Jinchuuriki." Yugito pointedly looked at him.

Naruto simply grinned at her. "You too, right? I can sense a lot of Chakra in you. Like, an amount only someone like a Jinchuuriki can have."

The blonde Jounin nodded her head, before turning her attention to Gaara's Dome technique, which was falling apart. "Don't underestimate my student, though. She's a master of Electricity." Samui dropped to the ground, unharmed.

Gaara was still floating in the air, looking down at her, his eyes narrowed in… respect? "Not bad, Kumo Shinobi. But can you-"

Samui cut him off, holding up a hand as she was panting. "I give… I used too much Chakra." To escape from that dome, she had released almost all of her Chakra, infused with lightning, to create a hole. But that dome was special, she had to use a larger amount than she anticipated just to create a hole big enough for her to escape through.

The Shukaku Jinchuuriki nodded his hand and cancelled out every technique he had planned underground for her. He evaporated and appeared beside Naruto, who was now standing at Hinata's side again. Hinata, who was at complete awe of the battle that had just ended.

"A-ano… That was great, G-Gaara-kun." Hinata stammered.

The soft voice came as a surprise to him, but he heard her clearly. "Ah…" He was unsure what to say to this strange girl. "Thank you, Hyuga Hinata…san."

Naruto grinned at the two, before he turned and watched Yugito attempting to wake up Karui and Omoi. "I believe we won that little bet, didn't we?"

Yugito sighed at her two still unconscious subordinates, who refused to move an inch. 'Useless!' She rose from her crouched position and stared at the smiling Naruto. "Not really. You said my team wouldn't even scratch Gaara. I believe Samui did hit him with that Lightning attack underground?"

Gaara looked sideways, a bit ashamed. "I concur, she did."

Naruto looked shocked at Gaara. "Wow! Really?" He then shrugged. "Blasted… Well, I guess no one wins, then. Because your team didn't defeat Gaara."

The Nekomata Jinchuuriki shook her head as she and Samui both picked up Omoi and Karui. "It was a silly bet, anyway."

Naruto snorted. "Tcheh! You obviously have never tasted Ramen before!"

"Whatever you say, Naruto." Yugito nodded her head to Samui, indicating they should be heading back to their temporary apartment.

As they left, Naruto turned to Gaara and Hinata.

"So, Hinata? What you wanted to talk about?"

* * *

He was in a bad mood. Obviously, the meetings he had in Konoha didn't go too well. She realized their Village wanted an alliance with Konoha, but even she knew things weren't all rainbows and sunshine between Leaf and Cloud.

Darui and Shii, the two guards who were constantly by the Raikage's side, glanced back every now and then.

Samui understood why. Apparently, Konoha made a bargain with the Raikage and now the team that was watching them the whole time in Konoha was going to be going back with them to Kumo. Yugito was walking behind the Raikage, Shii and Darui. Omoi and Karui were walking left and right from her. Konoha's team was walking behind them, having small talk.

The blonde Chuunin also glanced back occasionally, just to check on them. She was a good Shinobi, able to sense other nins quick and easy, but she didn't understand why she couldn't sense the kid she fought a few days ago, or their Captain, the blonde that bested Yugito about a week ago. It actually irritated her.

She was defeated, too… She rarely lost a spar. Only Killer Bee and Yugito would give her a run for her money, but they were massive powerhouses. This Gaara kid didn't look like much, except maybe… a psychotic killer at times. But he was stronger than her, definitely. She wondered, were all the others in their team just as strong?

She had intel on all of them.

Sabaku no Kankurou, a talented Kugutsu user. As far as Kumo knew, he could only control two puppets so far. Sabaku no Temari was a Wind user, her big Fan stating the obvious. But she was strong, probably stronger than her brother, Kankurou. Sabaku no Gaara was a Jinchuuriki, they all knew.

Kinuto Dosu they actually knew nothing about, except for his name. he was a former Sound-nin, but other than that, skills, Chakra affinity, they didn't know anything.

And then their leader, Uzumaki Naruto.

Samui regarded the other blonde from the corner of her eye. 'He's a definite wildcard… If his subordinate can defeat someone like me…' Samui was perhaps, a bit arrogant, but before that, she was honest. She was considered a prodigy in Kumo… 'Then how strong is the captain?'

"Hold up." Shii suddenly halted and Samui noticed that Yugito had also tensed up.

The Raikage wasn't really in the mood for sightseeing. "Hurry up, already, I'm cranky at the moment!"

"We've got company… BIG company." Yugito let out and Shii agreed. "This Chakra Presence is massive… And it's not even trying to hide itself."

Shii continued. "And… it's coming this way."

"Who's stupid enough to attack a Kage?" A turned towards the Konoha team. "Are these Shinobi from Konoha?" He glared at Naruto, who shook his head.

"No… I've already sent a few Bunshin ahead… They're coming from the opposite direction." Naruto answered calmly. "One of them has a Sharingan… the other looks like a shark."

"Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame." Shii whispered, in shock. He didn't ask Naruto how he found out… "Those are two big names, boss…"

"Orders, Uzumaki-taichou?" Came Gaara's voice.

Naruto assessed the situation in front of him as best as he could, before settling on the Raikage, who was busy yelling at all of his subordinates to deal with these two missing-nin as quick as possible. He wanted to go home fast.

"We protect Raikage-sama." He laid out. "With the best of our abilities."

Samui looked startled as she heard that and the rest of the team gave much of the same reaction.

Darui's lazy eye settled down on the Konoha group. "You don't understand. They're after Nii Yugito and Sabaku no Gaara." Yugito winced. She hadn't told the others yet that Naruto was also a Jinchuuriki.

"They're here." Shii breathed out, as nervous as one could get.

"Oy, Itachi-san… Is this our lucky day or what?" A very tall man, who looked like he was half fish, let out as he hefted his sword on his right shoulder. "I believe I spy… with my little eye… Three little… Jinchuuriki."

They had appeared in front of the Raikage, Darui and Shii. Naruto and the others stood behind the Raikage. "Three?" The Raikage repeated. "Then I assume their Captain is the other Jinchuuriki."

Samui, Omoi and Karui looked shocked as they turned to stare at Naruto, who simply shrugged.

"I do not want to kill you all…" Uchiha Itachi started, his Sharingan eyes looking at all of them. "But I will not hesitate to do so if you don't do as we say."

A loud chuckle came from the front as the Raikage stared at Kisame and Itachi. "Lucky, indeed! I'm having a bad day!" Electricity surrounded the Kage and he was ready to start fighting.

Shii and even the usual lazy and laconic Darui looked completely shocked as their leader, A, suddenly fell to the ground, the Chakra around him vanishing. He was unconscious. Definitely out cold.

"S-shit!" Darui acted instantly, grabbing the Kage and jumping back.

Shii now stood alone in front of the two powerful criminals. "W-what did you do?"

The shark of the two chuckled shortly. "I didn't expect you to do that, Itachi-san…"

"I foresaw… complications if I hadn't." Itachi whispered, feeling a slight after-effect from using the Tsukiyomi.

Kisame bared his fangs at the group in front of him. "Hahaha! Your most powerful guy just got downed in a second!" A huge amount of Killer Intent filled the air. "How about you guys all-"

Itachi cut him off, also stopping the Killer Intent from rising further. "Kisame. We're only here to take the Jinchuuriki."

The former Mist Shinobi snarled, his lust for a kill dying down just a tiny bit. "Which one?" he joked, but Itachi took him seriously.

"Our orders are… for only Uzumaki Naruto-kun." Itachi said, his eyes resting on the Konoha group.

* * *

Oh sheeeeeet! Raikage's out for the count! What will happen now!

Flashback parts in the coming chapter would of course come, explaining, or expanding the Hinata-Gaara-Naruto part, then a scene why Kankurou was, again, added to Naruto's team for the latest mission, and perhaps a few different point of views scenes… those are always fun to do. Flashback scene of how Gaara mastered his demon should be coming to mind as well…. Annnnnnnnnd, oh yeah! How DID those meetings with the Raikage and Konoha's council go? Keep reading and you'll find out… perhaps.

I have a few plans for Kurenai, as I want her to become closer to Naruto, actually… The same goes for a few other girls, of course.

Also, now that Gaara has become a TRUE Jinchuuriki, expect him to become somewhat like Crocodile from One Piece… Awesome shit, yeah…

I know I'm overpowering the F&CK out of Gaara and Naruto, but hey… you can't really say you don't like it….. right? I'm actually going to overpower Naruto's entire team, probably. Temari, Dosu and Kankurou are all pretty interesting characters and they all carry a lot of potential, especially Dosu! Man, he would become bad-ass if he could become a master of Sound!

Oh well…. Thanks for reading, hope to you've enjoyed it. And man, I hope those Scene Break Thingies work now.

TBC


	13. Progress In Motion

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note/Whatever Comments: I like the Naruto Manga at the moment. Naruto finally looks badass. With Kage Bunshin like that, who the hell stands a chance!

* * *

He had to admit it. The kid wasn't too bad for coming up with something like this. As they walked through the forest nearing Hi no Kuni, he could see them, jumping all around them. Thinking they were obscured from their view. Probably from his partner's, but not from his.

No, he had the Sharingan.

Nothing was invisible to these eyes. Not even these Bunshin which Kisame hadn't noticed at all. He found it even more impressive when he realized Samehada hadn't sensed them either.

"They know we're coming."

Kisame seemed to shrug as they continued their slow trek. "Sensor-nin, huh? It doesn't matter, with Akatsuki's heavy-hitter pair here… I don't think there's anything to worry about."

The Uchiha didn't say anything as he watched a few Fuuin Bunshin around him vanish, to warn the real one of their approach. 'Uzumaki Naruto… How have you grown in these years to have developed such a… useful skill?'

The duo slowly approached the group of nin in the distance, not at all scared by the massive Chakra Presence of the Raikage.

As they conversed, Itachi used his newly developed Eye Technique 'Shouraizou', to see what could happen in the next few minutes. What he see wasn't what he wanted to see, though. There was no other choice but to use 'that.'

"Lucky, indeed! I'm having a bad day!" Before the Raikage could rush forward, Itachi unleashed his Tsukiyomi on him. Although Itachi had just spent 72 hours to torment A, in the real world, not even a second had passed. One of his guards acted and grabbed the fallen leader, before jumping behind the other Kumo-nin. The Konoha-nin stayed in the back.

"W-what did you do?" The guard standing the furthest in the front managed to stutter.

Itachi heard his accomplice chuckle. "I didn't expect you to do that, Itachi-san."

"I foresaw… complications if I hadn't." Indeed, if he hadn't used Tsukiyomi, Kisame would be out cold and Itachi would have been fighting on his own against three Jinchuuriki and a pissed off Raikage. He didn't like those odds, even though he might still have managed.

The shark chuckled wildly and spread his Killer Intent around like candy. "Hahahaha! Your most powerful guy just got downed in a second! How about you guys all.-" Itachi cut his partner and his Killer Intent off.

"Kisame. We're only here to take the Jinchuuriki."

"… Which one?" he begrudgingly let out.

Itachi's gaze settled down on the Konoha-nin in the back. "Our orders are… for only Uzumaki Naruto-kun."

* * *

Aerial Perspective  
Chapter 12: Progress In Motion

* * *

The moment he had heard that, was the moment he knew what to do. "All of you leave! Yugito-san! Take all of your Shinobi with you and get back to Konoha! I'll hold them off!" This was Akatsuki, the group that was after the Kyuubi inside of him. This was no time for jokes. These guys were the real deal!

"Not a chance."

Naruto's eyes widened as Gaara stepped up next to him. "I will not let them take you, Uzumaki-taichou." The redhead grinned, though a bit unsurely. "They'll have to go through me."

Itachi noticed something weird about the two Jinchuuriki and got even more suspicious when he saw Naruto's eyes… Naruto's toad-like eyes. 'That seems rather unlikely…' The Missing-nin wouldn't believe that a kid as young as Naruto would know Senjutsu, but just to be sure… He performed the Shouraizou again.

Looking minutes into the future he saw… nothing.

'Impossible!' Itachi used all of his senses to try and find any approaching reinforcements, but there were none. He only sensed the three Shadow Clones in the distance which Naruto had sent to Konoha for reinforcements. If his Shouraizou showed him darkness, that could only mean he would be unconscious in five to seven minutes…

He snarled. This would not do.

"Tsukiyomi."

Kisame's head whipped to Itachi. "Itachi, what are you-!"

And with that, both Naruto and Gaara fell to the ground, completely unconscious. Itachi, after that, immediately had to hold his head with his right hand, to snap the dizziness away. "They are stronger than you think, Kisame. They had to be dealt with." Now that Naruto was unconscious, his Shadow Clones never reached Konoha.

"Man…" Kisame started as he looked at the remaining, panicking Shinobi in front of him. "I didn't know you could use that Technique on two people at the same time." He casually let out, enjoying the tense atmosphere.

The former Konoha Shinobi was fine again. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Kisame." He and the fish-like man gave their attention back to the group in front of them.

Dosu, Kankurou and Temari had immediately jumped in front of Naruto and Gaara the moment they fell down.

Yugito was worried now. Raikage was definitely the strongest in their midst, but he was dealt with just like that. She didn't know why, but she knew Naruto was no push-over either. And he got blown out of the game the same way as the Kumo leader.

"I'll just go out on a limb and say you've used quite some of your Chakra already." Darui stated, having settled down the Raikage against a tree. "Yugito, Shii, we are the strongest present. We're all Jounin, we can deal with these two."

But the Neko Jinchuuriki wasn't so sure about that. That Kisame person even had more Chakra than her!

"Leave." Itachi warned. "Overestimating your own ability is something a Genin would do. I expect none of that of Jounin like yourself."

Kisame had something else in mind, though. "Let me just rip all of them apart, Itachi!"

Itachi considered his 'comrade,' before turning to the three Konoha-nin in front of his target and the Kumo-nin behind them. "Do as you like." The battle that would come might make it easier for him to just nab Naruto.

And just like that, the area exploded into water. Water was everywhere. Itachi was nowhere in sight, while Kisame, who had just used 'Big Wave Explosion', was itching to slash his opponents apart. The Konoha and Kumo-nin were all swimming in his technique, holding their breaths and realizing they had nowhere to run. Kisame smirked evilly and was about to fuse with Samehada.

That was, until something completely unexpected happened to his water dome… Or rather, IN his water dome.

Something jumped in.

'Gama Bunta…' Kisame thought, gritting his teeth in frustration. Shaking his annoyance away at the sudden appearance of the Summoning in front of him, he released a short chuckle, one not confident. "Jiraiya-sama, I presume?" He let out, staring at the massive toad which was floating in front of him. 'This makes my water dome useless. I may be able to breathe here and summon sharks as much as I like… but Gama Bunta is too strong for any of my sharks…'

Outside of the dome, Jiraiya had already laid down Gaara and Naruto on the ground, the rest of Naruto's team close by. "H-how did you get here so quick?" Kankurou asked.

That was something Itachi also wanted to know, as he was watching Kisame's fight from a distance. He hadn't sensed Jiraiya approaching them at all, but had sensed him appear moments ago…

"I was summoned." Jiraiya let out irritably. He was in the middle of good research, too.

"Summoned?" Temari repeated, looking at the giant toad in the water dome and the Kumo-nin, who were still struggling to get out. Apparently, Jiraiya made no effort whatsoever to save them as well. Then again, he did SLAM the Konoha-nin out of the water sphere. Slamming Kumo-nin might not be such a good idea.

"I made a contract with Naruto." He grimaced as he was checking Naruto's vital signs. "We can summon each other with a scroll should a need arise. A need such as Akatsuki is… acceptable, I guess." He was still iffy about being ripped away from a perfect spot at the bathing houses.

Kisame's Water technique exploded into nothingness and the shark-like man landed on the floor next to Itachi. He didn't know whether the Uchiha was already standing there or had appeared after him, but that didn't matter. Itachi was completely dry, though. Jiraiya's summon landed in between the two Akatsuki members and the rest.

The Kumo-nin, with Darui carrying the Raikage, landed close to the Konoha Shinobi.

"Such a shame, I didn't expect you here, Jiraiya-sama." Kisame snarled a bit, readjusting the sword on his back.

"Yeah, that makes two of us." The Toad Sage replied, turning away from Gaara and Naruto and staring at both Itachi and Kisame. "You realize you both have to flee now, right? I'm not really in the mood for a complicated battle."

Complicated, as in having to protect all these greenhorns around him while fighting off two powerful Shinobi.

"Kisame, he is right." Itachi had his back already turned to everyone. "With Jiraiya-sama's presence here, it's best to retreat."

The former Mist-nin leveled a gaze at Jiraiya, recognizing him as an opponent too strong. "Quite… correct. He is one I would rather not face."

With Shinobi, strength was everything. One Shinobi could defeat another, but could lose to a third who would lose to the second. It's all about matchups. Itachi could beat Orochimaru, but not Jiraiya. Orochimaru might be able to beat Jiraiya… But then, Jiraiya would probably still win against Orochimaru once he would go all out.

Jiraiya turned to the still conscious ninja around him as the two Missing-nin made their leave. "Let's get them back to Konoha. They've been hit by the Tsukiyomi. Only one person I know can fix this."

* * *

"I can't believe this… Raikage-sama was... just like that… What the hell happened?"

Omoi was stupefied as he was seated outside of the hospital, with Karui sitting next to him. Samui, Yugito, Shii and Darui had followed after Jiraiya, who went straight to the Hokage Tower. The Raikage, Gaara and Naruto were in the hospital at the moment. Naruto's team was probably inside.

"They were two S-ranked criminals, Omoi… We didn't even know anything about them and they rushed us immediately." Karui was just as depressed as Omoi; feeling completely useless. "We were screwed even WITH Shii, Darui and Yugito…"

"No kidding…" Omoi grumbled. "And those other Konoha-nin couldn't do anything either."

"I've heard they need to get a legendary medic back to Konoha or something."

"Hey… Will he be alright?"

The red-haired woman scoffed loudly. "A guy like Raikage? Are you serious? He's gonna be fine, you idiot!"

"Hmm." Omoi pouted slightly. "We need to get stronger, Karui. A lot stronger. I mean, the both of us got our ass handed to us by a GENIN!" He clenched his fists tightly. "And then this… this feeling of being completely useless. I don't want it!"

Karui didn't say anything, but she agreed.

* * *

"We will pay her."

The Third Hokage raised an eyebrow as Yugito had suddenly broken the silence they were in. They had a few problems on how to get Tsunade to Konoha. Locating her wouldn't be too difficult, but persuading her to return to the Leaf? Perhaps a bit impossible.

"Tsunade is the gambler, right? She gambles in Kumo…" She averted her eyes slightly. "… alongside me, sometimes. She always loses and I know of her great… debts. This is important, it's about Raikage-sama, Kumo will pay her debts if she can heal our Raikage."

Darui shook his head, while Shii hung his head against his right hand's knuckles.

"While all of what you say is most likely…" He paused shortly. "True… and your way of persuasion might work, I think we should send a Konoha squad after her and persuade her… normally first." He didn't want to say it out loud, but Yugito's suggestion might be the only one. If it would come to that, Konoha will also chip in.

He wondered how high her debts were now, since they were already mind-boggling three years ago…

"I'll go." Jiraiya offered. "I know how to find her."

* * *

Sasuke had heard Naruto's squad had returned from a failed mission, with Naruto and another from his squad in the hospital. He and Sakura were on their way to the hospital now, with Kakashi lagging behind. They had returned from their own mission day ago and would be training today, but this would come first. Sai had gone home, they assumed.

The famous Copy ninja seemed to be reading his book, but his mind was elsewhere. To think that they would be attacked by Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. Sasuke had better not find out.

As soon as they entered the waiting room, they saw two Kumo Shinobi also waiting there, looking awfully distressed. Kakashi tilted his head and decided to join them, perhaps ask them what happened out there. "You guys go on ahead, I'll wait here for a bit."

His two students gave each other a questioning glance, before shrugging and heading over to where Naruto was.

Naruto's two former teammates weren't surprised to see more visitors in the room. Kankurou and Dosu were leaning against the wall and Temari was seated by Gaara's bed, which was located next to Naruto's. The two hospitalized seemed to breathing steadily.

"A-ah." Sakura started unsurely. "Excuse me." She shortly bowed, before she allowed herself in the room, heading over to Naruto's bed. Sasuke didn't greet the others in any way, but followed after Sakura.

As she observed his frail form, Sakura couldn't help but frown. She always remembered Naruto to be so energetic and... powerful. To see him like this made her feel really bad. "Sasuke-kun?" She saw the Uchiha move from the corner of her eye.

"What happened?"

Kankurou shot the questioning Uchiha a bored look. "We were attacked by two Nuke-nin; Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame…"

* * *

Kakashi was whistling to himself as he just got a full story from Karui and Omoi in the waiting room. He sighed and put his book away as he heard a ruckus coming from the room Naruto was supposed to be in.

"Tell me more! Where is he now? What did he say!"

Kakashi held in a groan as he saw Sasuke grabbing Kankurou by his… suit? Do puppeteers wear suits like that? "Sasuke, let him go."

The others hadn't even sensed the copy-nin enter so they were all shocked to suddenly see him standing there.

"Kakashi! It was Itachi! Do you know anything about this!" The avenger had let go of Kankurou and stomped towards Kakashi angrily. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

"Calm down, Sasuke."

"Where is he!" He didn't calm down, not even slightly.

"He's nowhere close." Kakashi answered, realizing Sasuke wouldn't let up. "He's the one who did this to Naruto and Gaara, and also the Raikage."

The sounds of muscles stretching and bones cracking filled the silence in the room as Sasuke was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. 'He defeated a Kage… and forced two groups, which had a few Jounin in it, to retreat to Konoha…? Damn it, Itachi, how strong are you?'

* * *

A few days later… Elsewhere…

The cooling effect of the water felt good on his feet. He always searched for a lake of some sorts for breaks from travel. They had been moving for two days, barely stopping to eat or drink, or even sleep. The Kumo-nin that were with him were very adamant about finding Tsunade as quick as possible.

"Jiraiya-sama."

The Toad hermit shot a glance over his shoulder and saw Samui approach him.

"Yugito wanted me to let you know we're ready to move again."

The aging man nodded his head. "We'll wait for another ten minutes before we leave, my feet are really comfortable at the moment." The real reason was that while he was more than ready to move again, the others really WEREN'T. While it was admirable how badly they wanted to save their master, forgetting about yourself really isn't.

At the moment, he was travelling with Samui, Yugito and surprisingly, Kakashi.

Samui watched Jiraiya dump his feet into the lake, shrugged and decided to give it a try. "Jiraiya-sama. Do you think Tsunade-sama will come with us? For money?"

"I don't know. Paying off her debts might do the trick, since it'll mean she'll be allowed to gamble everywhere again."

* * *

"Daikamaitachi!"

Kankurou whistled as he watched the boulder finally get a scratch from Temari's Wind Blast. "You're getting better."

"Not good enough!" His older sister snarled at the huge piece of rock in front of her. "We need to make sure they can rely on us! What are you doing lazing about, Kankurou?"

At the moment, the puppeteer was leaning against a tree. "Heh, you think I'm taking a break?" Temari watched her brother motion with his head to look behind him, behind the tree he was seated against.

She stared, not able to keep her jaw closed. Quite a distance away, three puppets were having a Kenjutsu battle with one another. "B-blindly?"

"Yeah… It's really difficult." Kankurou sighed as his puppets stopped moving. "Three puppets is my limit, and these are still wooden… I'm making metal ones at the moment, more durable, you know? But controlling those requires even greater strength. But momentum plays a huge part in it, thankfully."

"Impressive, lazy little brother." The blonde patted him on the head. "Want to see if they can withstand the Daikamaitachi?"

Kankurou sneered at Temari's grin. "You know Wind Chakra is the most brutal force out of all the elements, right? Keep that crazy fan of yours away from my puppets! It's not like I like to repeat myself, Temari!" His sister would ask that question far too often, for his tastes.

"You're boring me…" Temari readied her fan at the boulder again and unleashed another powerful gust towards it.

"Thank the heavens for that." Kankurou deadpanned as he watched the boulder finally crack completely.

Neither of them felt the need to talk about how worried they were for Gaara and Naruto. They both understood.

* * *

He was summoned by the Third Hokage to meet up with a new possible teammate. Apparently, Naruto had named him third in command, behind himself and Gaara. He was quite proud of himself at that, since both Naruto and Gaara were insane powerhouses.

"Kinuta Dosu."

He himself was no slouch either. His control over sound was getting better and he could finally control the devices under his bandages… somewhat. Orochimaru would regret not having him as a Sound Shinobi anymore.

"I believe you are somewhat familiar with Tayuya."

Dosu dared a glance at the young woman seated in the other chair in the Hokage's Office. He didn't particularly like the glare he was receiving, but was used to it, as all Sound-nin had that particular glare. "I know of her, though I cannot recall having traded words with one another."

He didn't like the sudden frown on the red-haired girl's face either, he decided. "I see… For the next few weeks, Tayuya will be joining your team on missions within the village. Should your team receive outside missions, she won't be part of the team."

"Understood."

"I want you to show her around the Village, she'll be living in the same Apartment Complex you are residing, the apartment next to yours is hers. I'm counting on you, Dosu-san."

"As you wish, Hokage-sama." He turned his one eye to Tayuya. "Follow me, then."

The Fire Leader watched both of them go and decided to continue to observe through his Viewing Orb. While Dosu has proven his loyalty to Naruto, Tayuya has only proven she isn't one of Orochimaru's mindless slaves. It'll take some watching…

* * *

"So you've also worked for Orochimaru?" Was the first thing Tayuya said to Dosu. "I've never seen you before."

"I was of rank Genin, you were one of the Five…" Dosu started. "I wonder how they've come to trust you like this, as you were one of Orochimaru's more trusted guards."

Tayuya grinned at him. "Heh, you talk funny, mummy." She rolled her eyes at his lack of response. "They've done a shitload of interrogation techniques on me. And I may have been one of the Five… that was only because I survived one the more riskier of Orochimaru's Curse Seals… I was bound to that snake and knew I could do nothing to fight it. The Curse Seal would've hurt me even more had I resisted."

Dosu didn't glance back as he lead the way to the apartment complex. "I'll assume you possess no other clothes than what you're wearing now?"

"You assume wrong, mummy."

Dosu was getting rather irked because of the nickname. "My name is Kinuta Dosu. It'd be wise to refrain to me as such, Tayuya."

"Whatever. That Hokage told me my apartment already had a bunch of stuff for me, including several sets of clothes." Tayuya shifted the cap on top of her head slightly. "So what kind of team do we have? Who's the boss?"

Dosu entered the building he was living in. "Our team is one of Genin… Our leader is Chuunin, though I'm fairly sure he's ranked above."

"Chuunin?" Tayuya bit out. "Our leader is a fucking Chuunin? So I can kick his ass, huh?"

"A rather foolish assumption…" Dosu responded. "Our leader single-handedly and very easily, killed Kaguya Kimimaro and made Yakushi Kabuto retreat. I saw it happen in front of me."

Now, that… THAT made Tayuya stop walking. Dosu turned and smirked at the shocked girl. He also realized Tayuya was probably the same height as Temari, the tallest of the team… Although everyone was steadily catching up to her.

"Wait… This CHUUNIN faced BOTH Kimimaro and Kabuto and was actually winning? Fuck you, I ain't retarded, mummy! No way am I falling for such a farfetched story!"

After he shrugged, Dosu continued. "Actually… He faced Kimimaro while he was in his highest Cursed Seal state, on his own and defeated him soundly. In fact, taichou hadn't even received a single scratch. Kabuto merely fled after seeing the result of that fight."

Tayuya snorted. "No shit…."

Dosu's grin grew. "Our captain is also the one that disrupted your Shishi Enjin…"

The redhead was difficult to convince, but she was slowly trying to believe it. "I suppose I should thank him for that one, if what you say is actually true… It takes a crapload of Chakra to perform Shishi Enjin."

"Really? Taichou can do it on his own, though."

"…. You're just full of shit, aren't you?"

* * *

**TIMESKIP – TWO AND A HALF WEEK**

* * *

"This the kid?"

Tsunade couldn't believe she was in Konoha again. She was a bit shocked with all the news Jiraiya had given her when he and his weird squad of Konoha and Kumo Shinobi found her in Waterfall. Her old teammate, Orochimaru was killed after a failed attempt to do Konoha in.

Then some pipsqueak called Uchiha Itachi put a Kage and two Jinchuuriki out cold in one fight about a week later. That kid had to be really good, too, because the Raikage she knew was no pushover!

Jiraiya had told her about Uzumaki Naruto… Kushina and Minato's little kid. The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Apparently he was quite the prodigy.

"He looks alright, I guess." The legendary medic uttered softly as she started working on him.

Jiraiya, Hiruzen and Kakashi were the only ones present as they watched Tsunade work on both Naruto and Gaara.

"They'll wake up in a few hours is my guess." She said after she was done. "The Raikage awoke immediately, but that's because the stronger the Shinobi, the faster he or she will-"

"Ugh…"

"Uhnn…"

She got cut off by two groans and she turned away from the Hokage and the others instantly to see both Jinchuuriki awaken. She was amazed for a small moment, until she came to a conclusion. "I guess Jinchuuriki are an exception as well."

"K-Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto managed, while Gaara just looked around the room, not understanding why he was lying in a hospital bed.

"Naruto, Gaara… You're alright. Try and get some sleep, we'll fill you in on the details tomorrow." Kakashi eye-smiled at them. "It's good to see you two awake again."

They decided to just do so, then.

* * *

The Third was watching the two Jinchuuriki peacefully sleep in their hospital beds. The Raikage was in the same state, still in a hospital bed, although he was awake and reassuring his own Shinobi. Already, messenger hawks had been sent to Kumo to let their Village know its leader was in good health.

'You've grown very strong, Naruto-kun…' Hiruzen thought as he stared at his still form. 'It wouldn't have mattered had I sent an ANBU Squad or a Jounin Squad to accompany the Raikage and his entourage… Against Uchiha Itachi, few stand a chance.'

The aging man had to sign many forms, as Kumo's council was highly displeased with the fact that their leader had been hospitalized.

He was also busy having debriefings with Jiraiya, Naruto's team and the Kumo-nin.

The Tsukiyomi had been used on the Lightning Leader, Naruto and Gaara. Already he knew what the Raikage had been put through. Torture for 72 hours. But what did the two Jinchuuriki before him face in that ultimate Genjutsu?

"O… Old man?"

Hiruzen's eyes slowly moved to the awakening Naruto. 'An hour and a half later than the Raikage's true awakening… That's pretty impressive.' He clasped his hands together and fully faced Naruto, turning his chair towards him. "Good afternoon, Naruto-kun. I assume you had a good night's rest?"

"Pohh! More than just good, I feel great!" The blonde flexed his arms. He fixed the Fire Leader with a stern gaze. "What happened to us, old man?"

"I will be asking you the same question."

* * *

The next morning Naruto found Temari, Kankurou and Dosu in the room he was occupying. He had awoken earlier than Gaara, who probably slept in whenever he could ever since he could sleep. "So, care to fill me in what happened after I got knocked down?"

Of course, everyone had expressed their relief at seeing them all fine and dandy that morning.

"You summoned Jiraiya. He chased them away." Kankurou said as he sat down on a small stool in between the beds of Naruto and Gaara. Temari was seated on Naruto's bed and Dosu was leaning against the wall on the other side of Naruto's bed. "That guy doesn't look it at all, but with the way those two retreated, I'll assume he's as strong as they come…"

"Jiraiya's strong." Naruto pointed out, staring at Kankurou. "I was just able to summon him too… Or rather, My Kage Bunshin was… When Itachi used that Genjutsu on me, my Bunshin all dispelled one by one… My last one made the handseals and poured the Chakra on the Summoning Scroll just in time."

"I still don't understand how you can summon Jiraiya, taichou." Temari was fishing for an explanation.

"It's kind of a last resort. Those two Nukenin are part of an organization who are after the Bijuu sealed in us. I'm strong and I've pushed Gaara to catch up to me. But we're not invincible. We can always land in some kind of sticky situation. In that case, I can summon Jiraiya. It's a Blood Summoning Scroll. He can summon me, I can summon him. Wherever we are."

"That's good to know." Dosu threw in. "Should we receive a high-ranked Mission in where we are entrapped by any kind of means, we'll always have something to fall back on."

"Tcheh." Came Temari's snort. "That's only if taichou's around, Dosu."

"Ah, but then… We also have these." The former Oto-nin flashed Temari the Hiraishin Kunai Naruto had given them all.

The blonde female had to smile at that. "Yeah, you're right, fine…"

"I like it." The puppeteer of the group let out. "It'll make me perform more confidently on missions. Not that I need more confidence."

The group turned to the sounds of Gaara waking up.

"You're making too much noise."

The redhead couldn't help but smile as Temari embraced him.

Kankurou laughed with definite relief in his voice. "Good to have you back in the land of the living, little brother."

* * *

Two days later, Naruto's team was completely up and about.

The blonde was wondering how everyone else was doing. Especially his old team. Apparently they were having a lot of C-ranked missions this week, so they didn't have the time to come and visit in the hospital. That was really too bad.

At the moment, they were hanging out in the apartment where the Suna trio was living. It was actually next door to Naruto. Naruto had been debriefing the Hokage on everything he knew that went on during the whole Kisame and Itachi thing.

He intentionally let out what Itachi had been doing to him during the Tsukiyomi. He later found out that Gaara had been experiencing the same thing.

A conversation with Itachi. For 48 hours. Apparently, the strain the Tsukiyomi brought on the receiver's brain was too much, so whether it was harmful or not, the victim would still fall to unconsciousness.

It was a very interesting conversation, too. He learned a lot about the history of Konoha during the Tsukiyomi.

"Taichou, perhaps now would be a good time to welcome our new member in our midst?" Dosu's voice pushed him away from his thoughts. "She lives just a few doors away. She's my neighbor." Gaara was in a conversation with his siblings.

"Tayuya, right?" Naruto asked on which he received a single nod. "… What do you think of her, Dosu?"

"It's hard to say… She's a difficult person who likes to curse. It is part of her nature. I can't easily see through her, but… I believe she's at least an honest person. You'll see when you meet with her."

"… Then we'll meet tomorrow, as scheduled. Hokage-sama also told me our mission is still on and our new departure date is in three days. Let's prepare ourselves a bit better than last time, huh?"

* * *

"Team Seven returning from two C-Ranked Missions." Hatake Kakashi bowed before his leader. "Missions Success."

Hiruzen was without a pile of paperwork this time around and was happily smoking away on his pipe. "Good to see you back in Konoha. I assume there was not too much trouble?"

All of Team 7 shook their heads. "Other than a minor injury here and there, all is well." Kakashi shrugged.

"Good. Then I'll have you and your team rest up for two days. Report to me in four days, Kakashi." Which meant the third day was meant for team exercise and the mission report of the two recent C-ranks, Kakashi understood. "Dismissed."

"A-ano, Hokage-sama? Do you have any news on Naruto?" The pinkhead of the team asked quickly, as Kakashi had already turned away. But the Jounin was also curious about that and turned back again.

"Ah yes, about that… I'm sure you'll be relieved to learn of his release from the hospital three days ago. I, however, have a request. He has a team meeting today which could very well be lasting until evening. Perhaps you'd be able to meet with him tonight, or tomorrow?"

Sakura's smile was infectious, the Third noted as he smiled back. Kakashi, and in a subdued way, even Sasuke, seemed satisfied with this news. Although Sasuke was probably satisfied for a different reason. So he could ask Naruto about Itachi… "Hai, Hokage-sama!" Sakura beamed as she bowed and walked out of the office. Sasuke and Sai followed after her, while Kakashi stayed for a bit.

"He's alright, then?"

The Shinobi Professor nodded his head. "Every Shinobi needs to go through defeat to become stronger. I think Naruto has just gotten a lot stronger, Kakashi."

* * *

Naruto was holding two big bags in his hands as he made his way up the stairs on the side of the outside wall to his apartment. Behind him, two Shadow Clones were also carrying two big bags each.

"Good morning, taichou!" The three Narutos looked to the balcony next to his to see Temari hanging the laundry. "Up early, huh?"

"Yeah, ran out of supplies… I was really hungry yesterday." Naruto wanted to scratch the back of his head, but he was unable to do so because of the bags.

"Let me guess…." The female blonde deadpanned as she hung one of Kankurou's suits. "All of it is Ramen?"

The Jinchuuriki opened his mouth to quickly protest. "No! I have one bag of…" He trailed off as he looked to his Shadow Clones. "Damn it! Yeah, all of what you see right now is Ramen…" He sulked a bit. "Where's Nr.3?" He bellowed at his Kage Bunshin.

Following that question, a third Shadow Clone made his way up the outside stairs. "Here I am, ya nag!" He also was carrying two big bags of grocery shopping.

The real Naruto shook his head. "One of his bags has some milk in it!" He quickly exclaimed to Temari.

"Yeah… One carton of milk and the rest of the bag is still ramen?" Temari smirked at her fellow blonde.

The other snorted. "Of course! You musn't ever run out of Ramen!"

"Listen to the wise man!" His three Shadow Clones chorused.

Temari shook her head at the display on Naruto's balcony. "And to think this guy knocked down Baki in one second…" She muttered as she finished the laundry. "Next time Kankurou's doing this crap job!" She muttered after that.

"Yo, tell the others I'll be a bit later at our training field. I've got someone to meet before that." Naruto yelled to Temari while his Kage Bunshin were already entering his apartment.

"Won't that be making a bad impression on our newest member, taichou?" Temari frowned at him.

"Nah, I don't think less of Kakashi-sensei."

* * *

"Man, I hope she shows up today…"

"She did yesterday and the day before that, so…"

"She must really love it."

Naruto was sitting on the edge of a building overlooking the shadier part of Konoha. He wasn't alone. He was making two of his Shadow Clones accompany him as he was waiting for Tsunade and Shizune to arrive. He would get bored if he was by himself, after all. Apparently, Tsunade and her assistant wouldn't be staying in Konoha for too long, but would gamble here for a few days, since she had no more debts.

"You know, we should have more Blood Summonings with us, don't you think?" One clone randomly let out.

"Tcheh! Who do you wanna summon, Kiba?" The other Clone replied.

"Are you crazy? Akamaru would be a better choice!" The first clone threw back.

"Maybe we should sign a Blood Scroll with the Old Man!"

The real Naruto was just observing the streets below as the two clones continued their conversation.

"Haha! Yeah! And then summon him straight into the bathhouses!"

"Holy crap! That would be the prank of a lifetime!"

"But I think the old man wouldn't sign it… He's too important to be summoned away from Konoha all of a sudden. I mean, look at Jiraiya, he's never REALLY busy."

"How about Kakashi-sensei?"

"Nah, he's watching over Sakura-chan and the bastard during missions. We can't just drag him away from that."

"Hmmm…" They both started musing about it.

The real Naruto put a finger to his chin. "How about Tsunade or that assistant of hers? They're free, not working for Konoha. And they're undoubtedly strong, too…" He could already see the two walking in the distance. "Stay here, you two… I'm gonna meet with her."

He jumped down to the ground, landing directly in front of Tsunade and Shizune. The second jumped a bit at his sudden landing.

Naruto formally bowed before them. "Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san. I thank you for your care."

"Oh, it's the brat we helped the other day." Tsunade stared neutrally at the blonde before her. "You're welcome. Next time don't go fighting S-ranked Nukenin, kid."

The blonde raised his head and grinned at her. "Can't make promises about that one… Since they're kinda after me."

Of course, Tsunade learned, since her recent arrival in Konoha, about Akatsuki. An organization hunting down all the Jinchuuriki. She didn't care much about it, anyway. "Then you should run away next time. You know the odds of surviving against someone like Uchiha Itachi, for a kid like you, right?"

"Heh, you're talking to me about odds, lady?" Naruto couldn't help but let out a short chuckle. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto." He held out his hand.

It took a second or three, but Tsunade and Shizune shook his hand. "I'll take it you have something to say, or ask us?"

"A request." Naruto tilted his head slightly, taking in everything about the two women in front of him. Apparently, these two were very precious persons to him in the future. He couldn't see how at the moment. "Here."

Tsunade looked at the three similar looking pills in Naruto's right hand. "What's that?"

"A special pill." Naruto took a look at the pills in his hands and couldn't help but want to use them. They were made in the future, during a great war, by his former teammate, Haruno Sakura. It was specifically made for Jinchuuriki. But that didn't mean it wouldn't do anything for normal Shinobi.

"Special?" Tsunade repeated. "What's it do?"

Naruto took a look at his surroundings. "Take one and see if you can find out. I have more of these, but I can't tell you what they do in the middle of these streets. I have a mission in two days, so I'll be gone for a week or so. I've heard you'll be leaving Konoha too." He continued after seeing Tsunade nod. Shizune was mostly quiet, just staring at the strange blonde. "The truth is… The after-effects of the pill require a certain medic Jutsu only you have…" Truthfully, it still needed to be developed. "… Well, if you're curious, you can find me in Konoha. I'll gladly tell you more."

"Heh, mysterious, aren't you?" But her curiosity was piqued. She grabbed one of the pills and couldn't help but see the grin on Naruto's face. "I don't really sense any ill intent from you, boy. Although you do remind me of a fox."

"Heh… I guess it comes with the title, ey?" Naruto smiled. He then bowed again, closing his eyes. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama. I hope we will see each other again."

"Maybe we will." The granddaughter of the First Hokage responded as she walked past Naruto.

"It was nice to meet you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto opened his eyes and looked at Shizune. "Yeah… It was very nice to meet you too, Shizune-san. Perhaps we'll have a more elaborate conversation next time." They surely will have…

* * *

After meeting Tsunade and Shizune, Naruto slowly made his way to where his team usually trained. He liked those two. Tsunade and Shizune were both quite easy to read. They didn't hide too many things and were very direct. He liked people like that.

He stealthily made his way into a tree, having already sent a few Fuuin Bunshin ahead to observe what his team was doing at the moment.

Gaara was talking to Tayuya, along with Dosu. Temari and Kankurou were talking to each other. If he heard correctly, the conversation was about laundry duty.

This was his team.

Sabaku no Gaara, second in command, somewhat in control of his Bijuu and Naruto was sure Gaara could take on Jounin-level Shinobi now.

Sabaku no Temari was mastering her Kuchiyose, Weasels. So far, she could only summon a medium-sized Weasel. But that one had a masterful use over Wind Chakra, his name was Kamatari.

Sabaku no Kankurou was quickly becoming an expert in Kugutsu, as he himself had stated. Naruto thought he already was an expert when he first met him.

Kinuto Dosu could now use your own sounds as a weapon against you. He could manipulate any sound wave around him and make it sound like something else entirely. The first time he tried it on Naruto, Naruto thought it was a Genjutsu, but it was all real.

And this new girl, Tayuya. A Genjutsu Specialist. Uzuki Yuugao had been helping him with his Genjutsu lately, but he was still very careful when it came to that dangerous art. Sure, his Shinobi Outfit usually warned him about Genjutsu and if worst came to worst, his deeper connection with his Bijuu could shake him out of it, but… Genjutsu's just way too sneaky! It could only take a second, as proven against Itachi. Where was the Kyuubi shaking him out of it during the Tsukiyomi, anyway?

Apparently, Tsukiyomi is one of those Genjutsu that just are too damn powerful. He'll have to talk to Kyuubi about it… if that Demon feels like it.

"Perhaps you wish to try and survive against my newest Jutsu, then?"

"Bring it, you tiny brat!"

Naruto quickly appeared behind Gaara as he and Tayuya were about to start a 'sparring' match. The blonde noticed Tayuya was slightly taller than himself as well. Gaara was just a little smaller than him. "Now, now… I think it's best if we don't fight each other until I say so…."

"Who are you? The captain?" Tayuya asked, sending the blonde a glare or two.

"Yeah, actually." Naruto still needed to get used to being called captain. "Name's Uzumaki Naruto." He held out his hand.

Tayuya merely glanced for half a second at Naruto's hand, before pointedly ignoring it. "Tayuya. I already met the others of our team. I want to know, actually, if you're fit to be our leader, since you're a Chuunin and all."

"Heheheh." The snicker was fake, everyone noticed easily. "You know… Tayuya, right? I'm not very friendly against people who try to destroy my home. I don't know why the old man saw it fit to make you a Konoha Shinobi, but you're still gonna have to prove to me whether I can trust you." He then turned rather cold. **"You'd do well to behave."**

Tayuya blinked and faltered in her step backwards, completely not expecting Killing Intent of this magnitude coming off of this happy go lucky guy. And she had to admit… She now believed this guy could have killed Kimimaro. "W-wha…" She clenched her fists and tried to shake the Intent off of her. She managed just a bit. "Pretty impressive… For a Chuunin." She spat out. Or rather, she MANAGED to spat out.

Naruto saw through everything. Her bravado, her pause, her pride… And then, he chuckled. He chuckled loudly. "Tayuya… I think we're going to have a lot of fun."

Tayuya's eyes widened as Naruto said that from behind her, with his back to her. And she was just staring at him in front of her, too! 'Shit, this guy's fast…'

Naruto's other subordinates were looking at the blonde like 'Are you kidding me?'

* * *

TBC

Sorry for the long wait!

I have to bring Dosu and Tayuya more into the game in the next chapter, as not much is known about their skills or even their character yet! Naruto will be meeting up with Team Seven as well!  
And the next Chuunin Exams are getting close! This time, Kumo will be the host!

Til next time!


	14. Peripheral Senses

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: Meh. In this fic, Uchiha Itachi does NOT have an illness. I hate it how Sasuke defeated Itachi, I hate it and I will hate it forever. Doesn't matter at all whether Itachi lost on purpose or not. This chap has not been pre-read.

* * *

When he woke up this morning he came to a startling realization. He had been promoted to Chuunin a little more than a month ago, but he had been rather busy to notice the changes. He had to get to know his team and had a few low-ranked missions to do so. And then that crazy mission with the Raikage and his escorts, where they had to fight Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, which ended with him in the hospital for a pretty long time.

But now that he had time to come to terms with everything, he felt a bit put off.

He didn't have a sensei anymore.

Sure, he trained with his own team and with Gekkou Hayate and Uzuki Yuugao, but… He didn't have a REAL sensei. A real one like Sasuke and Sakura still had. And come to think of it, did this mean he was the Sensei of his own team?

All these thoughts brought him standing next to the man who often wandered around the Memorial Grounds.

"I was wondering when you would start to think about this." He started. "Your situation is bit odd, I have to admit. You're a Chuunin, a rookie at that, but you already have your own team. I mean, rookie Chuunin usually still get placed in a team under a Jounin. Or they stuck with small paperwork or guard duties." Kakashi was staring at the little book in his right hand, but wasn't really staring at it either, as he continued to speak. "As far as I know, you can still consider me your teacher, Naruto. I'm sure Sakura and Sasuke wouldn't mind if you join our training sessions. Or perhaps even a Mission, if allowed?"

"Heh, thanks, sensei." Naruto uttered softly. "I think I'll do just that today, if you don't mind."

Kakashi nodded his head once and closed his book. "I guess we could head there now. But… I'm only two hours late at this time."

Naruto rolled his eyes as the two slowly moved away from the Memorial Stone. "How are they doing, anyway?

"They'll all be turning Chuunin in a month in Kumo, I think. They've progressed well. You'd better watch it, Naruto. Your promotion really spurred them on."

"That's good." The blonde was pleased, the more powerful everyone got, the better. Those Akatsuki needed to be dealt with and he knew he wouldn't have the time to go protecting others.

* * *

Aerial Perspective  
Chapter 13: Peripheral Senses

* * *

"So you're saying you have a former ANBU in your Genin team? That Sai guy?" Naruto frowned as he walking next to Kakashi, approaching Kakashi's Training Grounds. "Why?"

"I'm not sure." The Copy-nin admitted. "His posing as a Genin is surely ordered, but I fail to see why. Perhaps Hokage-sama wants to protect Sasuke in the next Chuunin Exams."

"So is he any good?" Was Naruto's next question.

"Well, he's definitely a few notches above Sasuke's level. You want to spar with the kid?" Kakashi offered as he could sense his students in the distance. He signaled to Naruto to use Shunshin to appear behind Sakura, on which he received a nod.

* * *

Sakura was playing with two Kunai in her hands, actually sharpening the two with one another. The girl had changed a lot from when she first started as a Genin. She was a real bother to the rest of the team, she imagined.

When she compared herself to the rest of the team, she definitely came up short, and not just some. In the beginning, no one could compare to Sasuke, until Naruto actually surpassed him greatly. And she herself kept standing right where she was.

But not anymore. The new guy, Sai, had yet to be beaten by her or Sasuke, but she would get strong enough to deal with the stoic boy. Of course, Sasuke was rapidly increasing his own strength and speed as well. Kakashi taught them a few new things, like Jutsu or important information regarding other countries, a few times in the week.

This week, she learned the Katon; Enshou no Jutsu, which was pretty similar to the Housenka, only that the Enshou had smaller fireballs, but there were many, many more. It was actually a defensive technique, where Sakura was surrounded by a Shower of Fire, fire hitting everything around her but herself.

Sasuke had learned a few Raiton Jutsu, which she hadn't bothered to remember the names for and Sai wasn't learning anything new so far. It was strange, but Kakashi rarely spoke to the pale boy. Sai was even paler than Sasuke. And that means, as Tazuna would say, Super-Pale.

Sakura whipped her body around as soon as a hand landed on her shoulder from behind her. No one of her team would do that, except for maybe Kakashi, but he had yet to do it. Sai and Sasuke would never do so. So who… ?

"N-Naruto?"

"Yo." Naruto mimicked Kakashi's carefree greeting. "Kakashi had to help a lady carry her groceries up a few stairs in my apartment building, I saw this and helped out. That's why he is so late and that's why I joined him."

"Liar!" The pink-haired girl pointed a finger at him that almost touched his nose.

"Heh…" The blonde scratched the back of his head. "This is actually pretty entertaining, I can see now why you do this, Kakashi-sensei."

"It's not funny, Naruto!" Team Seven had yet to pay any attention to the Copy-nin standing in front of them. "But… why are you here?"

"Oh, today's my last day off before I start on another mission, outside of Konoha. We haven't seen each other in a pretty long while, right?" Naruto answered truthfully, sparing a glance at Sasuke and Sai, who both didn't seem to be doing much of anything.

"Naruto's going to join our training session today. It's a really easy one, too. The three of you, go up against me and Naruto. Three Genin versus a Jounin and a Chuunin. Think you can handle that?"

Sasuke stood up from where he was sitting against one of the three poles on Kakashi's training ground. "Hn, let's see how far you've come, Naruto." He trained a good, focused gaze on the blonde, a Sharingan gaze.

"As you wish, Sasuke…" Naruto chuckled as he vanished from view, followed by Kakashi.

"Oh! So we've already begun?" Sakura let out, gripping her Kunai tightly. "What do we do?"

"I cannot sense either of them." Came's Sai's indifferent voice as he unraveled a scroll he somehow suddenly was holding in his hands. "Ninpou; Choujuu Giga." He softly spoke and from out of the scroll, about fifty little mice of ink came running, spreading out over the training course. Sai didn't explain anything as he started waiting.

"Will those find them?" Sakura asked, on which she received no answer. She glowered at Sai, before she turned to Sasuke.

"My Sharingan can't see any active Chakra Sources around us, except for those little creatures Sai just sent out. They're hiding their Chakra well." Sasuke popped his neck to the left. "This is a spar, no test of teamwork. I'm going to look for that blonde idiot." With that, Sasuke jumped away, leaving Sakura and Sai alone in the clearing.

Being alone with Sai meant… being alone. The boy didn't speak often.

"So, you're supposed to be good, right?"

Sakura jumped backwards in slight fright at her ex-teammate's voice and watched how Naruto shoved his fist through Sai's face. Only to see Sai explode into a big explosion of ink, ready to entrap Naruto. But Naruto was long gone from that spot.

Sai dug himself out of the ground a few inches from where his Ink Clone had just been dispersed. Without any words, he cancelled out his Choujuu Giga of mice and focused on the blonde Shinobi in front of him. Sakura was standing to his right, but he wasn't expecting her to help him.

"Uzumaki Naruto." The black-haired boy confirmed. "I shall now test your skill." Sai rushed towards him.

"Could you not help him, Sakura? I want to see how good he is." Naruto requested as he easily dodged Sai's Taijutsu and countered with a few kicks and punches, which were either blocked or dodged. "Not too bad, Sai."

Sai hadn't touch him so far, and was surprised to find himself fighting seriously. He had yet to do so against his teammates. His cold fighting style got interrupted as he received a hard punch from his left, and then, his right, finding himself flung to the ground.

He picked himself up without a word and rushed at the blonde again. This time, he received a kick from above, which sent him into the ground. He quickly picked himself up again and jumped backwards, choosing to avoid Taijutsu from now on.

'Faster than me?' Sai wondered inwardly.

He thought he was at a safe distance, until his legs were swept from underneath him and his left leg was grabbed by Naruto, who threw him a few meters in the air. "Fight me seriously, Sai."

The blonde didn't continue with any form of attack as Sai landed safely on the ground.

Sakura was resisting to let her jaw dangle downwards. She learned that Sai was faster than her and Sasuke both, and had already estimated him to possibly even be faster than Naruto. She was very, very far from right.

"Ninpou; Choujuu Giga." Sai's voice was still ever so calm as he threw five Ink Tigers Naruto's way. But all were dealt with by an invisible force around Naruto, who simply grinned at all the Ink spots on the ground around him.

To his slight surprise, the stains of ink on the ground reformed back into tigers and pounced at Naruto again, only to be wiped away, again as well. "Pretty ferocious creations you have there, Sai."

Sai's gaze was still as indifferent as in the beginning of the spar. The boy couldn't be read at all, Naruto noted. "My turn for something offensive! Fuuton; Sankontessou." Chakra could be seen around Naruto's hands. "I hope someone knows some medic Jutsu… You'd best be dodging now…"

Sai quickly jumped out of the way as Naruto slashed his arm in the air around him, sending a vicious slice of destructive Wind Chakra Sai's way.

Sakura's eyes widened as about five trees were just blown to smithereens behind the previous spot where Sai had been standing. 'That will surely catch Sasuke's attention and get him back here!'

Meanwhile, Naruto just kept on slashing his hands at Sai, who kept on dodging. The Ink Tigers that kept on reforming were dealt with as if they weren't even there.

'He has Wind Chakra protecting him.' Sai deduced as he dodged yet another slash of Wind. 'I cannot afford to be hit by one of his attacks, they will inflict too much damage.' But as he was thinking this, Naruto used Shunshin to get behind him and kicked him hard in the side, sending Sai into a tree that wasn't hit by Naruto's attacks.

"Hm." Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sai, who was up again. 'He's pretty good, he can somewhat keep up with me, should I take him seriously?'

The moment passed as Sasuke landed in front of the recovering Sai, who was holding his side. "Stay out of this…" He ordered the hurt boy behind him. 'He's defeated Sai already?' He didn't check behind him, but he knew Sai wasn't completely fine anymore.

Naruto snapped his fingers. "Let's do this then, Sasuke!"

Before Sasuke could even rush at him, he was shocked to find someone… standing on his shoulders.

Kakashi's left foot was on Sasuke's left shoulder and his right on the other. The Uchiha was enraged as he somersaulted backwards, intent on kicking Kakashi away. Kakashi was pleased to see Sasuke was enraged enough to lure him away from Naruto. 'Let's see how Sakura does against Naruto…'

"My turn, huh?" Sakura muttered as she tensed her muscles, ready to charge Naruto.

The Jinchuuriki regarded the pinkhead in front of him. 'She's changed as well… her hair's gotten really long, too.' He noticed that her ponytail, reached just below her shoulder blades. And where Yamanaka Ino had a slender ponytail, Sakura had a broad one. Bangs were covering her ears and went down to her breasts and she had bang somewhat covering her eyes as well. Not the same as Hinata, though, as the Hyuga's was more…rectangle, he guessed.

She still wore the same clothes and he noticed she still carried the gloves he had given her with seals engraved into them, with activation of a pulse of Wind Chakra, to empower her Fire Techniques. She also wore high black boots. But other than that, all was still the same with her outfit. "Here goes, Sakura… Don't hold back even slightly."

"Oh, I won't." Sakura grinned as she tightened her right fist and plowed it hard in the ground beneath her.

Naruto expected boulders shooting out from the ground, not Sakura ripping out a piece of the ground. Ground he was standing on.

"Nice." He admonished.

Sakura was now lifting a huge piece of rock and sand where Naruto was standing on.

With one hand.

"You've gotten better, Sakura. But what's the use of this?"

And like that, holes appeared all around Naruto and even underneath him, as small explosions of fire were shot upwards, all aiming for no escape for Naruto. Apparently, Sakura had already performed the Housenka no Jutsu into the piece of rock Naruto was standing on. Housenka, powered by Wind Chakra.

But Naruto vanished from the rock before anything could hit him and appeared a few meters behind Sakura, with handseals finished. "Here, Sakura, Fuuton; Haisou no Jutsu!"

The piece of rock Sakura was lifting fell to the ground as soon as Naruto whipped both his hands skywards… With a loud yelp Sakura found herself flung into the air… High into the air. VERY high… She was shrieking like a little girl while Naruto was grinning at her flailing form from the ground.

"Hehe… Didn't know you could fly, Sakura."

"NARUTO! Katon; Housenka no Jutsu!" Naruto peered into the sky to see small fireballs approaching him, but he simply activated the Kyuuka Seal on his outfit.

As Sakura was rapidly approaching the floor again, Naruto smiled as he performed a few quick handseals. "Fuuton; Ku Kimakura."

The pinkhaired girl was utterly surprised as air pressure came from the ground and slowed her descent drastically. She simply landed on her feet, as if she didn't just fall down a mile. "You could have died there, Sakura. You'd better be prepared next time you go flying, huh?"

"NARUTO!" She was enraged, ready to strangle the blonde as she rushed forward. Naruto simply evaded all her manners of violence and jumped around her, all the while laughing. She found herself panting a few seconds later. Having used two Housenka and a lot of Chakra to lift the ground from underneath Naruto really took a lot out of her.

And she hadn't touched Naruto at all.

"You've gotten a lot better, Sakura." Naruto admitted as he turned his back to her, to see that Sai was ready to go again…

* * *

"So… Why aren't you wearing your Chuunin uniform, Naruto?"

The Copycat got a shrug as a reply. "I like my clothes… Even though they ARE a bit gloomy." He dryly pointed out as he saw himself sit with the current team 7, who was pretty colorful compared to his black and grey outfit.

Sakura chose to observe the now taller than herself Naruto. His hair had grown out and some of it already reached his collarbone, while a lot of it covered his face and eyes, while his ears were completely covered. He looked like a very fit Shinobi, he just radiated an aura of power, even though she couldn't sense any Chakra coming from him. Despite her recently discovered sensory abilities, she still couldn't sense anything from Naruto.

But she already concluded it was the outfit. She knew Naruto knew Fuuinjutsu, so there were probably some kind of special seals on his outfit, preventing anyone from sensing anything.

At the moment, team 7 was eating at the barbeque stand where Team Ten usually frequented. Even the silent duo, Sasuke and Sai were present.

"I've heard you're going on a long-term mission tomorrow?"

Sakura looked from the questioning Kakashi to Naruto, who scratching the back of his head in the way only Naruto could. "Heh, yeah, it's a retry, I suppose."

Kakashi nodded knowingly, while Sasuke and Sai were quietly eating their food, probably waiting for this get-together to come to its end. "I'll assume you've prepared yourself even better than before."

The blonde nodded his head, while taking a bite of some steak in front of him. "Mmh-mm! You bet! My team's ready for anything tomorrow."

"How IS your team, Naruto?" Sakura asked, looking at the tiny amount of food in front of her. 'We need more meat!' Inner Sakura raged.

"As well as can be expected." Naruto grinned at her. "I am the taichou." He proudly bumped himself on the chest with his fist. "How's things going on your end? I heard you're also going on a lot of missions from the old man."

"Lots of useless missions, hn." Sasuke answered coldly. "We're more than ready enough to be doing missions like Naruto." The Uchiha told Kakashi. "And we still haven't fought each other ever since your lucky victory." He threw Naruto.

Again, the blonde shrugged. "We'll get to it eventually."

* * *

As night approached, Naruto made his way to his own personal training grounds, which the Hokage had assigned to him. The Forest of Death, was completely his. He was even building a hideaway underground, just in case any Chuunin Exams would be held here again.

The rest of his team was already inside, probably exploring their new little world where they could run amok. Although, with the exception of Tayuya, they were already pretty familiar with it thanks to the Chuunin Exams.

His entire team was branded with the Oitsumeru Seal, the tracking seal, so they could ALWAYS find each other, special Fuuinjutsu on your outfit or not. On that note, he'd have to remind himself to teach them how to implement the Silence, Suppression and the Shroud Seals on their own uniforms. Just so he didn't have to do it himself every time.

He remembered how Namikaze-sensei taught him how to draw up the seals and how it took him frustratingly long. The Silence Seal was meant for sounds and movement, the Suppression for Chakra Presence and the Shroud for concealment of execution of Techniques.

Those were the three basic seals of his outfit, all located on specific locations.

Using Hiraishin, he teleported close to his team. He was already able to detect the beacons he spread out under his underlings and how to teleport close, instead of VERY close to said beacon. His subordinates, minus Tayuya, rarely got surprised anymore by his sudden appearances.

"It's too bad you can't join us tomorrow, Tayuya." Indeed, since Tayuya was far from trustworthy to Konoha, she wasn't allowed on missions outside of Konoha. "A Genjutsu user always comes in handy." He scratched his chin. He was staring at Tayuya with narrowed eyes. "It's really too bad."

"Whatever." Tayuya rolled her eyes at her weird captain. Ever since joining this team of misfits, she felt oddly at ease. All of these peers of hers had a strange way of interacting with one another. And she couldn't deny she actually liked it. Her Genjutsu worked wonders on anyone on the team, except for Naruto and Gaara.

They somehow seemed immune to whatever she threw at them.

For Gaara, it was because he was completely in synch with his Bijuu. For Naruto, it was slightly different, as he and the Kyuubi weren't exactly on one line with each other, although Naruto DID have access to ALL of the Kyuubi's Chakra whenever he wanted.

So whenever Naruto's outfit would warn him for Genjutsu, all Naruto did was expand a lot of Chakra from his body to scare the illusion away. And thus, Genjutsu actually took a crapload of Chakra for Naruto to dispel. Which is why he still needed someone to teach him how to deal with Genjutsu.

And Tayuya was a more of a dealer than a taker, so she didn't have a lot to teach, he imagined. "You know… since I've already burned a Tracking Seal on your body, linked to your very Chakra Presence, you can't really escape from me."

Tayuya was seated on the ground, recovering from a spar she had with Temari. Gaara was fighting her now, while Dosu and Kankurou were lightly sparring. Naruto knew that Tayuya had a Curse Seal once, one she did no longer possess now, due to Orochimaru's death. Without that Curse Seal, Tayuya still was very strong. Her summons were interesting to say the least, but her fighting style itself left much to be desired. She sucked at Taijutsu, really.

"So? What's it you're saying?"

Tayuya was foul-mouthed and rude most of the time. She grew a little bit out of that, ever since she learned she had nothing left after the failed invasion of Oto. She did wonder who lead Oto now, but that didn't really matter to her in the end. She knew Konoha was a far better place to live and she had to admit that the people were a lot nicer, too, despite the lot of them being happy-go-lucky fools.

Especially her captain.

"With this as proof, I could get you to come along with us."

The female redhead snorted at him. "Your leader wouldn't allow this. He doesn't trust me, no one really trusts me here, so you should just cut the bullshit." She let out calmly, not really annoyed, just tired.

"Well, you can't really escape. Let's say you DO run for Oto during our mission, I can find you in less than a second and kill you or take you back to Konoha." He turned away from Tayuya to stare at his friends. "What does Oto have that Konoha can't offer you, anyway?"

"Nothing." Tayuya answered truthfully. "Oto means shit to me. In fact, everything means shit to me."

"I don't trust you, Tayuya." Naruto let out honestly. "You helped in the failed attempt to destroy Konoha. Despite it all being orders given to you, I still hold it against you." His voice was harsh. "I will kill all that is against Konoha, all that is out to hurt either me or my comrades."

"You're the prime example, a true stereotype, of a Konoha-nin." Tayuya responded. "Didn't you know everyone is out to kill everyone, everyone is out to destroy everything. Stupid idiot. Just like you, there's a Shinobi out there who's willing to do everything for his or her own Country as well."

"I know." Naruto replied softly. "But I will not attack, I will only retaliate. I don't need anything else than this…" He pointed to his friends. "My friends around me, willing to protect each other from everything." He turned back to her and stared her straight in the eyes. "I don't trust you, I don't expect you to become part of what we are, what we've become and what we're still going to be."

Tayuya stared straight back, not knowing what to say anymore, but listening nonetheless.

"But I want you to."

Her eyes widened as he let that out, the sincerity in his voice piercing her chest deeply.

"I want to trust you…" He continued. "I'll make sure you can join us on this mission. If my decision to trust you and want you as my friend, as my comrade, is wrong…" he paused. "… Then I'll rectify that mistake myself."

Tayuya was frozen solid as she and Naruto continued to stare at one another for a few more seconds.

He broke the silence. "Anyway, pack up what you need for tomorrow, we're going to be staying in Kumo for a month." He turned his back to her, so he couldn't see the sudden, small, but most importantly, genuine smile on Tayuya's face.

It went as fast as it came, though. Tayuya rarely smiled genuinely, after all.

* * *

Samui made her way to the gates of Konoha, relieved that she could finally go home. The Raikage had completely recovered several days ago, but there was certain paperwork to be dealt with. For example, how the higher-ups in Kumo had assumed this was an act of war on Konoha's part.

How ridiculous.

Karui, Omoi and Yugito were already at the Gates, waiting for the rest to arrive. The Raikage had the tendency to be late and then complain about being late, but they were all already used to it.

After a few short moments of greetings of good mornings, Samui noticed the Konoha team approaching in the distance, with one new face. A red-haired young woman. She narrowed her eyes to get a read on this girl, but she couldn't see what kind of Kunoichi she was and she hadn't recognized her from anywhere.

"This is Tayuya, a new addition to our squad." Naruto explained as they came close enough to her team to greet. Tayuya did nothing to show she wanted to introduce herself to anyone, which irked Samui somewhat.

"So the two of you have recovered as well, huh?" Omoi spoke up, with a lollipop in his right hand.

"Konoha sends the same team with us to escort. They must have great faith in you, despite having failed to protect any of us before.." Karui followed up, a small grin on her face.

Gaara, Dosu and Naruto simply offered a blank stare at the taunting girl, Tayuya wasn't paying attention and Temari and Kankurou grinned back. "One would think two Kumo Squads could protect their own Kage." The four pig-tailed Temari retorted harshly.

"Yeah, what I remember seeing is quivering cowards standing in the back." Kankurou added.

"Why you…-" Samui cut off Karui's enraged follow-ups.

"I think it's best we forget previous handlings." She offered, staring at Naruto one last time, before turning back to waiting for the others to arrive.

Yugito simply grinned at her weird team, before facing Naruto. "So, two Jinchuuriki, huh? Sending one Jinchuuriki to Kumo is already quite peculiar, don't you think? Especially with the upcoming Chuunin Exams…"

Naruto shrugged at her. "We mean nothing by it. I'm not even sure we'll still be there during the Chuunin Exams."

"But I am sure a mission was given to you by your superiors." The Two-tailed Jinchuuriki spoke with certainty. "Don't think you can act freely within the walls of Kumo."

"We're not." Naruto countered. "And I don't know what you're babbling about."

"I'm sure. But I'll be watching you, Uzumaki Naruto." Nii Yugito narrowed her cat-like eyes at him.

"Really? You'd watch a Chuunin?" Came Naruto's voice. "A Jounin like yourself?"

"Tcheh, for Jinchuuriki, rankings hardly mean anything…"

An explosion suddenly came from behind them as the Gates of Konoha found themselves with a new hole in the center. In the distance, one could see a madman running. "Let's go!" Everyone heard in the distance.

"Apologies." Came Darui's lazy voice, who had just appeared in their midst, along with Shii. "Kumo will cover the costs of repairing anything Raikage-sama may have demolished during his stay here." He let out robotically, as if spoken many times before.

* * *

The aging leader of the Fire Country considered the ANBU Captain in front of him.

"Something's off, Hokage-sama."

Uzuki Yuugao had finished reporting a mission just accomplished, and the subject the two were now talking about was Naruto and his progress.

"His skills in Kenjutsu is far too high for someone never guided before. He can even get the drop on me and Hayate sometimes." She told. "You say he's just been promoted to Chuunin and he was ranked as dead-last in his graduating class? If he's the dead-last then the rest of his class will surely ensure that we would win any war in the coming years."

The Hokage chuckled at her deductions. "Ah yes, Naruto-kun seemed to have grown a lot in past few months."

Yuugao removed the mask from her face to stare the Hokage straight in the eye, long, purple hair flowing about. "He's no dead-last. And definitely no Chuunin." She moved some hair in front of her face away. "I'm sure he's holding back during our spars, too, as he is never even slightly winded."

"Well, he IS a Jinchuuriki. And to the Kyuubi no less. He is bound to have huge amounts of energy, or stamina."

"No, that's not it, Hokage-sama. He doesn't seem to be breaking a sweat DURING the spars." She folded her arms. "It's really too bad he rejected the offer to join my squad. He'd really make things easier."

"I am sure… But I think ANBU might not be a good place for him, anyway."

"He's ruthless enough." Yuugao shrugged. "I've heard he's on his way to Kumo?"

"Yes, the previous time went different than hoped, but this time I'm sure all will be well."

Uzuki chuckled. "Yes, I guess the ANBU Squad you've sent out to shadow them will make sure of it."

"They'll only go so far…"

* * *

Kumogakure no Jutsu…

"Looks like we'll finally be getting a tan here, Gaara."

The former Suna Jinchuuriki spared his captain a frown, before turning back to observing the village before him. Buildings on mountains, mountains that reached high, high enough to reach the clouds. "Kumogakure seems… similar to Konoha."

"It does?" Naruto let out surprised as the two were in the back of the group walking through the gates of Kumo as the Raikage almost crashed through them. "How so?"

"Looks like a piece of shit village, alright." Tayuya commented, her arms folded as she was walking next to Temari, in front of Kankurou and Dosu.

"It seems peaceful at first glance." Kankurou interjected, looking over his shoulder, not really responding to Tayuya. "It's what I thought when I stepped through the gates of Konoha for the first time too."

"Appearances are always deceiving." Dosu let out, just above a whisper, as always. He had the skill to carry his voice over to the ones he wanted to relay his messages anyway.

"Follow us." Yugito ordered Naruto's group as she jumped after the Raikage in high speed. The Lightning leader seemed to have vanished.

As Naruto's squad followed, hundreds of Fuuin Bunshin were already scattering across the Kumo grounds. 'Infiltration complete.' Naruto grinned to himself.

* * *

With their living quarters secured, team Unsan (Naruto, Gaara, Dosu, Temari, Kankurou and Tayuya) decided to call it a day. Naruto stayed with Tayuya and Dosu, while Gaara stayed with Temari and Kankurou. These formations were also the teams was there ever a need to split up.

Back in Konoha, it had already been decided not to mention their mission while in Kumo. The walls might have ears, in the form of Fuuinjutsu, after all. "Their Raikage's really a piece of work, huh?" Naruto said as he sat at a table in the small kitchen of an apartment that was assigned to them.

"He'd whoop your ass and you know it." Tayuya countered with a smirk as she was lying down on a couch in the living room. Dosu was standing in his own bedroom, unwrapping his bandages. "How strong are you anyway?"

Naruto was resting his chin in the palm of his right hand on the table as he considered Tayuya with a mischievous glance. "Strong enough."

"I know you've beaten Kimimaro in his Cursed Seal level two State… That alone makes you stronger than the Sound Four combined. But you defeated him in that state with no scratch on yourself." Tayuya released an agitated sigh. "I have to admit that says a lot. We were hard-pressed to even land a single glancing blow on that guy, but you killed him easily."

Tayuya stared hard at him. "We were strong. The Sound Four were known as Elites in Oto. And Kimimaro was our leader. How can you still be a Chuunin? Is becoming Jounin that hard in Konoha?" Tayuya thought aloud.

"You can only become Jounin through hard work, many missions and many accomplishments." Naruto shrugged his shoulders at her as Dosu joined Tayuya in the living room. "I just don't have enough of all of that yet."

Tayuya raised an eyebrow at Dosu, who looked like a normal kid, instead of a cold-hearted Shinobi. He had a buzz-cut, obviously had black hair and was wearing normal clothing at the moment. What surprised her was that he didn't have a right arm, just a stump, with a metal connection at the end. This because the metallic arm DID have a normal hand… But what surprised her even more was his face. It was mostly metal.

Feeling Tayuya's look on him as he sat himself on the other couch of the living room, he let out. "Orochimaru's experiments. Machine, flesh and… wires."

"What the hell did he do to your face? You look like a robot!"

Naruto already knew his story so he wasn't really paying any attention to the duo… he was receiving messages from his Fuuin Bunshin at irregular intervals anyway.

Dosu's right eye was still intact, behind machinery. It acted as a binocular and could detect body heat. More peculiar was his mouth, which was metallic. Dosu grinned and Tayuya had to admit it looked damn creepy. "My mouth, or to be precise, my vocal cords have been reinforced to allow certain… Oton Jutsu. While the experiments had finished, I never had the time to try anything out before we were suddenly ordered to become a Genin Team for the Chuunin Exams in Konoha."

"We might be going on a mission with Yugito's team in a few days. Tomorrow we've got a training session with them." Naruto suddenly let out as he looked at the conversing duo in the living room. No one asked how he suddenly knew this, because they both knew it was because of his Fuuin Bunshin.

"It's funny, but I want to see how I match up against that Nii Yugito." He turned away from them again. 'They received a mission to see how strong all of us truly are… But I think I'm just going to let them fight against Dosu and Tayuya alone… Dosu has improved a lot and Tayuya is not to be taken lightly either. All out, they're able to take out the three Chuunin, but I wonder if they can take Yugito?'

* * *

He knew almost everything about Kumo now. Sure, his Fuuin Bunshin couldn't touch anything, like open books or scrolls for information, but people talk… people talk a lot. Especially when they think they're alone. The Hokage already had his suspicions about the Raikage building up a big, powerful army and now Naruto could prove those suspicions.

And he now also knew the location of the Eight-tailed Jinchuuriki. He was extremely curious about this future ally. His future self had never told him anything about Nii Yugito, so he assumed Yugito had already died in the future.

At the moment, Naruto was reading through a scroll of gibberish to pretend he was busy with something as Dosu stood in front of Karui, Omoi and Samui. Gaara was overlooking the situation in his stead, while Tayuya was standing behind Dosu with her arms folded over one another.

Temari and Kankurou were busy bickering with each other about breakfast. Naruto was glad he didn't stay with them this morning.

"Gaara defeated all three of you in under five minutes, right?" Dosu asked the trio, with their leader, Nii Yugito behind them. "If that's really the case, I wonder if I can skip fighting the weaklings and go straight for the leader?"

Karui immediately looked affronted. "You mummy bastard! I'm gonna slice those bandages all off!" Karui screeched as he took her sword and pointed it at Dosu. Without any words, Omoi had the exact same actions.

Samui just considered Dosu with narrowed eyes. 'He speaks as if he already knows how strong we are. But he hasn't told us anything about himself. His act implies he's stronger than Gaara, but that's obvious a bluff.'

"Very well."

Samui, calm as always, considered her temporary leader from the corner of her eye. Her two teammates were far from calm, however. "What!" They both released.

"Nii-taichou! You can't be serious! This kid, a GENIN, thinks he can best three Chuunin! Let US beat him up!" Karui demanded.

"You DO remember what happened before, right?" The Kumo Jinchuuriki responded with an uncaring shrug. "I am a Jounin, I usually don't get easy opponents, so let me have some fun here." The young woman walked forward.

'Never underestimate your opponents. In this case, a Kumo Jounin… She should be too much for me.' Dosu observed every movement the Jounin made.

"Heh, you sure you want to face me alone?" Yugito grinned, showing off her fangs as her underlings stepped aside.

"No. You are a Jounin, after all." Dosu conceded. "I will have one teammate accompany me against you."

Yugito frowned as Tayuya fell in step with Dosu, not looking motivated at all. "Just one? I'd think you want your entire team to back you up, though…"

"That won't be necessary." Dosu readied himself, while Tayuya vanished from view.

'They've started.' Yugito got into battle stance as well. "Fine then… Show me what you've got."

"Nii-taichou, behind you!"

Yugito snarled as she had a kunai ready to stab whoever it was behind her, or dodge any incoming attack, only to see no one or nothing as she turned.

"Got you…"

Yugito barely dodged Dosu's metallic arm as she jumped away and landed a few feet in front of her own team. "Stay out of this!" She ordered her team, who looked completely dumbfounded. The Neko Jinchuuriki was shocked to find her vision blurring more and more by the seconds. "You hit me with something didn't you?"

"I did." Came Dosu's voice from behind.

"It hit you quite hard." From in front of her.

"You won't be able to stand straight." And "You shouldn't have underestimated me." Came from both left and right at the same time.

Through the blurring vision, she noticed Dosu approaching her, so she immediately unleashed a big amount of Chakra to shield her from any attack and to get away from him for a moment. Obscured from view in a bush close to the clearing they were fighting in, Yugito was shaking her head to get her vision back to a hundred percent.

'Sound, he uses sound… He's really talented.' The Kumo Jounin thought, annoyed that she fell for it so easily. 'Nekomata… Restart my senses, would you?'

She didn't get a response, but the jolt through her body let her know she was back to normal. "Let's try this again…." She whispered softly, only to have Dosu descend towards her a second later. Yugito managed to shunshin away back to the clearing, cautious to not get hit by another technique of that metallic arm of his.

"Advanced hearing and control over sound?" Yugito looked quite serious as Dosu walked into the clearing again. "Not bad, Genin… Let's kick this up a notch then!"

Dosu's eyes widened as Yugito vanished from view, but thanks to his hearing he managed to dodge the attack from behind, which was a simple kick intended for his back. "You won't catch me off guard so easily."

He spoke too soon as Yugito merely followed her attack through and caught Dosu in the face with a punch. "I'm faster than you, kid."

The punch didn't send him flying, but it still hurt. Unwrapping the bandages in front of his mouth, he spat out some blood and at the same time showed Yugito his metal mouth. The woman narrowed her eyes at his opponent.

"Nii-taichou! Watch out!"

Yugito immediately jumped away as she heard Karui's voice from behind her.

"Look out, Nii-taichou, he's coming!" This time it was Omoi's voice, also from behind.

Confused, Yugito jumped away again as Dosu came sailing in with an attack. But she was much faster. Keeping an eye on her own team and at the same time her opponent, she noticed that her team wasn't as alarmed-looking as the panic they released in the previous warnings. "You… You can imitate their voices?"

"It's too bad you're so fast…" Dosu admitted. "But yes, once heard enough, one of my abilities is to be able to copy another person's voice. Capable of confusing the enemy. Unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of hearing your other subordinate's voice enough."

"I see…" Yugito grinned. "That's a dangerous ability. But you do realize I won't fall for it again now, right?"

Dosu chuckled shortly. "I should hope so, since I do have more tricks… up my sleeve."

Performing handseals, Dosu had his left hand stuck in a seal, while his right hand was touching just above his collarbone. "But let's see if you won't fall for it again…. Oton, Kensou no Jutsu!"

Just like that, Yugito, while still in the clearing, felt hundreds of voices around her, all screaming at her and at each other. She could hear Omoi's voice, Karui's voice, Dosu's own team was mixed in there and many, many others she didn't recognize. She couldn't concentrate like this at all, so she immediately fired up her Chakra Cloak, sure that Dosu was already on the move. 'If I had been any other opponent, this would have been a definite killer move… The kid's good…'

As the Chakra Cloak was surrounding her, the noised didn't leave at all, though. 'I'm safe from any Taijutsu for the moment, what else can he do?'

"You're lucky you're a Jinchuuriki." Dosu conceded. "I find myself in the same predicament every time I fight Naruto-taichou or Gaara-fukataichou." It was true, his sounds were all imbedded with his own Chakra, in this case, that was the true attack, to disorientate his opponent. That it would become a distraction came second. The technique either made the opponent completely unbalanced, or would create a perfect opening for him to exploit… Neither was the case when fighting a Jinchuuriki.

"I guess I'll try something else, then…" Dosu bent his knees slightly and performed a single seal. "Oton, Shigo no Jutsu." And after that, he performed another set of handseals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Through her Chakra Cloak, Yugito watched as Dosu summoned a polearm with four small blades on the side and one big blade at the tip. _"You can't approach me when I'm like this…"_

"But I don't feel the need to do so." Dosu murmured. "Suiton, Yonbyoushi!"

Yugito's eyes widened as Dosu thrust his polearm forward, but it seemed the polearm shot out Water Techniques and when she looked closer, she could see a seal tag on his polearm. 'A piercing Water Technique, strengthened by some Seal?' Despite the Chakra Cloak, Yugito chose to dodge the four water-images of Dosu's polearm.

'That polearm seems to have Water Chakra imbued in it.' Having dodged the attacks, she watched them slice trees in half. "My turn for some tricks… Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Dosu prepared himself as something seemed to come out of the ground all around Yugito. On closer look, Dosu saw four small creatures, small ogres bury themselves out of the ground.

"These are my zombie ogres… They eat flesh." Yugito grinned as the four Ogres leaped towards Dosu in high-speed. Dosu jumped backwards and swung his polearm to release "Suiton, Suijinheki!" to protect him.

The loud noised around her vanished slowly and Yugito noticed it was quiet again. She watched as her ogres became sluggish and just dropped down on the ground. 'He used his sound on them.'

"Yugito!"

A loud whisper ripped her attention away from her fallen ogres to stare at Dosu in suspicion. The clearing was suddenly filled with sounds of a flute.

"What are you doing, Yugito! You killed him!" A whisper again came to her and as she blinked, she saw Dosu on the ground, being eaten by her ogres.

'W-what!'

"You killed my subordinate…" Naruto walked forward, a massive amount of red Chakra swirling around him. "An eye for an eye…" Naruto rushed forward, only to vanish completely.

"Genjutsu of this level… You're pretty good, too." Yugito commented as she stared at Tayuya in a tree close by. She easily cancelled out the illusion, as she was a Genjutsu master, after all. "But Genjutsu won't work on me." She was somewhat surprised to still hear whispers around her, telling her to look out and watch her back and whatnot.

Meanwhile, outside of the battle, Naruto narrowed his eyes at Yugito. 'Maybe she can teach me how to deal with Genjutsu. It doesn't seem to have taken her a lot of Chakra at all to get out of Tayuya's mindgames.'

Back to the battle, Tayuya jumped down and performed a few handseals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Yugito watched in amusement as three gigantic ogres appeared in front of Tayuya. Many whispers were still around Yugito, trying to distract her, but she was very sure that was Dosu's previous technique's doing, the Shigo no Jutsu. "Today is summoning technique day, huh? Let's see how those summons of yours deal with…"

She zipped straight through one of Tayuya's summons, using a Chakra Claw to cut it up. Tayuya was slightly surprised and immediately continued playing her flute, directing the other two ogres to attack the zigzagging Yugito. Dosu joined the fray and released several Water Techniques at Yugito, but the Jinchuuriki was moving too fast.

"Enough of this shit…" Tayuya snarled at the fast-moving Yugito. "Tai!"

Releasing her summons, Tayuya performed another set of handseals. "Let's see you try to beat this, old hag! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

"Another summon?" Yugito deadpanned, looking from the corner of her eye to see Dosu had used most of his Chakra already. "And only one this time?"

Indeed, before Tayuya stood one smaller ogre than the three she summoned before. "Heh, this one'll be your downfall… My previous ogres have the same ability as this one, but this one is just… so much more effective."

Yugito's eyes narrowed as many things came out of the ogre's body.. Slithering, see-through, white.. snakes? And then, the material ghosts, six to be exact, separated themselves from the ogre. "This ogre is special, Kumo Jounin." Yugito grinned. "You'd better dodge…"

"Shit… I don't know anything about her." Yugito threw a few Kunai at the slithering ghosts only to see the kunai pass through the things as if they weren't there. 'They don't have mass… It's just Chakra shaped into those things…'

And then they came, all seven of them. Six white ghosts and the one ogre, who was moving awfully fast.

But she was a Jounin, and a pretty good one, at that. She easily dodged all seven things and even Dosu who tried to nick her with his polearm in between. She even managed to kick him away through all the dodging.

And then she noticed that her Chakra Cloak was missing a half… Two of those white 'snakes' managed to touch her!

Creating some distance between her and her opponents, Yugito reinforced her Chakra Cloak once again. 'I can't believe I'm using my Chakra Cloak for these two Genin… But it's necessary.' She shot a glance at Tayuya to see she was busy playing the flute. 'The flute controls all these beings. And those beings suck out Chakra. '

Throwing a few shuriken Tayuya's way, Yugito saw Tayuya had impeccable control over her beings as the remaining ogre easily caught all her Shuriken. "I'll just have to get close to her to end the technique…"

"Don't forget about me." And "I'm right here." And "You're letting your guard down." Were all examples of whispers still around her, courtesy of Dosu's technique.

Yugito considered Dosu, who had just recovered from her kick. "You're wasting Chakra. Your whispers don't affect me."

"And you're a fool…" Dosu grinned a metallic grin. "Those whispers aren't meant to distract you, they're transferring Chakra from you to me… The fact you hear them is the fact your Chakra is being used…"

Yugito's eyes widened as she realized he was right. She had already wasted quite some Chakra as she was busy holding up her Chakrra Cloak the entire time. "Then how come you still look so tired?"

"It's simple… The whispers are draining your Chakra but they can't give it me. You're using a special kind of Chakra, after all. A Bijuu's Chakra is harmful to a non-Jinchuuriki, or didn't you know?" Dosu sighed, knowing he was almost out of the game. "But maybe Tayuya can still beat you."

Feeling somewhat schooled, Yugito folded her arms and shook her head. "What teamwork… And what skills." Yugito threw Dosu a wicked grin. "You guys… make me want to go at you seriously!"

Dodging all the ghosts and the fast ogre, Yugito was approaching Tayuya in high-speed and appeared behind the red-haired girl, with a kunai to the back of the head. "Game over."

"Not yet." Tayuya's form changed into an exact copy of the one ogre she had summoned and it almost sliced Yugito's stomach, but the woman was fast to jump away.

"Man, you guys are good." Yugito used her nose to sniff out Tayuya. "I assume you had beyond perfect control over that one ogre, huh?"

Yugito had already located Tayuya and noticed how now two ogres and six material ghosts were approaching her in high-speed. Flaring up her Chakra Cloak some more, Yugito ascended above the trees to see Tayuya playing her flute. "Now the game's over."

"Yeah, you're lucky you're a Jinchuuriki." Tayuya snarled as she stopped playing the flute.

Naruto grinned at the results of the battle before him. Even though his two subordinates had lost, they still managed to push a Jinchuuriki to her limits. 'Those two can actually work well together.'

* * *

"Hey, yo!"

Naruto looked up from his position. At the moment he was seated on a small balcony in front of his temporary apartment in Kumo. His subordinates were either inside or walking around in the village, probably under watch of several ANBU. The blonde narrowed his eyes at the man standing on his roof, looking down at him.

"Hey… yo?"

"Yes, what's with the cloaking? Don't you know guys like us should be smoking?"

"Smoking?" Deadpanned Naruto. "What are you babbling about, old man?"

"Nothing new, just a question for you." He adjusted his sunglasses.

"You're rhyming?" Naruto closed the scroll he was working on to give the man his full attention. "Your rhyming sucks."

"Don't hate, commemorate!"

"What do you want, poser!"

"I'm here to investigate! A bird told me you were bigger than eight!"

Naruto used shunshin to get behind the man. "Again… what do you want?"

"Whoa, you're not too bad! But thing is, I ain't the mad!"

"Says the guy with eight swords, ready for instigation or retaliation." Naruto glared at the man. "You have a lot of Chakra. You were sent to me by the Raikage?"

"My brother ain't my mother! He can send, but I won't mend!" The man held his hand out in fist-form. "Name's Killer Bee, most shit here is free when you're with me!"

Naruto looked at the hand in suspicion, before sighing. "I guess even Kumo has its local weirdos." He bumped fists with Kirabi. "Uzumaki Naruto."

"Naruto you little guy, I'll show you why it's bad to be shy in this village nearby!"

"Nearby? We're already IN the village, right? Man, you really suck at that!" Naruto stopped touching the palm of his right hand to refrain from summoning Eigou Kaiki. 'I wonder why my Fuuin Bunshin hadn't noticed this guy yet. This guy has as much Chakra as me and Jiraiya… He most likely is the Eight-tailed Jinchuuriki.'

"But sure, show me around town then."

* * *

The Raikage was seated in his office, with the two Jinchuuriki from Kumo seated in front of his desk. "So, what did you find out?"

Yugito sheepishly chuckled and stared at her lap. "Actually, I fought his subordinates… I was too tired to fight him after that."

Instantly, A narrowed his eyes at Yugito. "Two Genin made you tired?"

"They're not normal…. The entire team isn't normal. One of the Genin defeated my entire team single-handedly. Two of the Genin together made me fight seriously. I think the leader is Jounin material, even if he IS a Chuunin. He's a Jinchuuriki, after all."

"B, what do you think?"

"Eight says to wait for more information to arrive at the gate." Killer Bee nodded his head sagely. "He says he's not there, only there if you stare. He can't be read, but knows where to tread."

A rolled his eyes at B's usual unusual antics. "So he knows we're trying to get a read on him, huh?" He turned back to Yugito. "So I assume you know a lot about his subordinates?"

"Yeah… The spar from today gave me the missing information about the two Oto Missing-nin. They're really, really good. If I wasn't a Jinchuuriki, I might have lost."

"Despite you being a Jounin?"

Yugito gave the question some thought. "….. Maybe."

"I see… That old man, he's too straightforward. He wants a war, sending out such powerful Shinobi here?"

"I think they mean no harm, the kid's intents seemed to cause no alarm." Bee continued to 'rap.'

"Shut up, Bee."

* * *

"You do know you're acting too cool, right? You're too laid-back."

Naruto decided to go look for some new socks in town, as well as some new short dark trunks he'll use some new seals on, when Samui was behind him as he was just about to enter a shop. The girl was in the same outfit he was accustomed to seeing her in. Her short blonde locks reaching just below her shoulder, while hair almost obscured her blue eyes.

"I am? People often say I'm high-strung, though."

"I'm sure." Samui's expression seemed stuck in 'neutral.'

"I'm serious!" The male blonde exclaimed.

"It's too suspicious. It's as if you're planning something. Something big."

Naruto grinned at the somewhat older girl in front of him. "… Like a prank?"

Samui frowned at him. "…. No, not like a prank."

"Hmmm, but what if I was?"

"You're changing the subject."

"Man, you're the most serious person I met. Gotta jet!" Naruto flashed her a smile, before he ran off.

Samui glanced at his retreating back. "I'm the most serious?" She shook her head as she slowly started walking. "No, I'm cool."

* * *

Nii Yugito was on her way to Kumo, coming back from a successful delivery mission to the Lightning Daimyo when some freak started swinging a three-part scythe and running towards her and her team.

"Oy, taichou, what do we do here?" Omoi frowned at the approaching freak. They were just about three to five miles away from Kumo. He always was bad at estimating distances.

"If he's picking a fight, who are we to not end it?" The redhead Karui suggested as she grabbed her sword.

"It looks like he's serious, with all the Killer Intent he's radiating." Yugito released an annoyed sigh. "But be careful, he seems strong."

Just like always in their team, Karui and Omoi performed the pre-emptive strike, although in this instance, their opponent was already rushing at them. Instead of the swordsmanship Karui and Omoi possessed, their opponent just seemed bat-crazy as he swung his scythe around, which was connected to a chain on his hand.

But the two Kumo-nin weren't so easy to nick and easily pivoted around his attacks. "Who the hell are you, anyway?" Omoi asked as he jumped backwards, knowing he couldn't get close if his opponent was attacking like that. They needed some long-ranged attacks.

"You pussies need to be sacrificed!"

Karui frowned at the awkward reply, also having jumped back. "This guy's crazy, alright… How about some Ninju-" She got caught off as Yugito announced a Jutsu.

"Doton, Ishi no Jutsu!"

Karui and Omoi quickly jumped out of the way to see dozens of sharpened rocks made their impact on their opponent's body. Lethal impacts.

"Hey you, fucking cat! That hurts!"

Yugito narrowed her eyes at his words and at his wounds. 'I hit him at several vital areas, but he's not going down… And he said 'cat', didn't he?' Suddenly, she sensed someone approaching them from behind. "Who-"

"Hidan. You can't handle this alone?"

"Shut the hell up, Kakuzu!"

Now Yugito was worried, since she hadn't sensed this other guy before, despite being a sensor-nin…

* * *

He was getting quite frustrated that he couldn't train all out, as it would reveal too much to the obvious eyes watching him. The many new Fuuton Jutsu he had created couldn't be experimented with, the Youkon Techniques would gather the attention of the entire country and his Maton Techniques would raise many more questions. Even practicing his Kenjutsu kata was limited.

So at the moment he was just enjoying doing nothing in Kumo.

Temari and Kankurou were practicing their respective skills, while Gaara was in much the same predicament he was in. Dosu and Tayuya seemed to be enjoying themselves in the village and it really made him wonder what Oto was like.

Kumo may be the same for the others, but for him it was completely different. The people didn't glare at him, no one disliked him here. Yeah, he really liked walking around town, walking into shops where shop owners didn't kick him out. Looking at and checking out young women without thinking he would never stand a chance, like in Konoha.

It's really too bad this weird guy was following him around. Was he trying to be his friend or something?

"Look, Bee. I'm trying to relax here. You're rapping grates on my nerves!"

"Naruto, Naruto, are you crazy? These legendary rhymes be amazing!"

"Doesn't even rhyme, old man!" He was just about to yell out some more, but something completely stopped him. A dispel of a Fuuin Bunshin who had been following Yugito's team outside of the Village. Apparently, the barrier surrounding Kumogakure only detects Chakra ENTERING the village.

But the warning his Fuuin Bunshin had given him was unsettling.

Akatsuki.

Wasting no time, Naruto quickly performed a few handseals to perform "Kenpou; Bouseikon: Keihou no Jutsu!"

Kirabi was kinda surprised to see the blonde next to him do some handseals, but was even more confused to see nothing happen.

"Bee, I have to go."

Killer Bee didn't have time to reply as Naruto left.

He left with a...

"Yellow Flash..." Kirabi was amazed at this. "Now that's something fresh..."

Putting a hand to his chin, he appeared as if in deep thought. "Now should I go report this to bro... or after that flash I go? "

* * *

Gaara whipped his head to the direction where the Chakra pulse came from, but he was sure he was one of few who had sensed it. It was, after all, Naruto's technique to let the rest of the team know something's up. His Alarm Technique. Knowing that his blonde captain wouldn't be at the location where he sensed the Chakra alarm, he quickly performed a few seals.

He whispered "Kenpou; Bouseikon: Oitsumeru no Jutsu" to himself and concentrated on where Naruto had gone off to. 'That's pretty far...' He quickly left the room he was in and hoped the others did the same as he did. 'I'd better be quick...'

Temari and Kankurou, who were on a training field, had also noticed Naruto's Alarm Technique, as it sends a Chakra Pulse through their body and lets the receiver know where it came from. "Something's definitely up, I can sense Gaara heading out already!" Kankurou yelled out. "Let's go!"

"Are you an idiot?" Temari yelled back. "Naruto and Gaara can leave the Village easily with their Jutsu, but for us it's different, we won't be able to just leave Kumo like that!"

"Rest assured... I'll be able to help out and that front." Came Dosu's voice as he and Tayuya walked into the clearing, also quite on edge as Naruto has never used the Alarm Jutsu, the Keihou Technique before. "I'll distract the guards with my Oton Jutsu, even Jounin will fall for it. It'll give us enough time to sneak out."

"Or I could perform some Genjutsu?" Tayuya offered. "Shitheads won't see us coming and won't see us leaving."

* * *

TBC

Yo, guys, I know I take long to update my fics, I always do… I apologize. But there are just so many, wonderful distractions in this world.  
There are women, playstation 3 games such as Dark Souls and Rage, women, school, work, women, homework, cleaning the house, women, grocery shopping, partying, women, birthday parties and so many more! If you want to add me for PS3, my PSN is, predictably, TokehGecko.

I wanted to say thanks for the reviews in this chap! Seems I've forgotten to mention this in previous chapters. I do read every single review, as I get an email for every single one. But if you have a question or anything, you should send it to my other email, . I usually don't read the FFN message box, which sends messages to the email I usually don't read. And I only read that mail for the reviews I receive…

Let's see… I do remember some of the questions. The pairing in this fic won't be the focus. I have no clue about it and I think it's for the best, story-wise, if I don't focus too much on any romance. Sure, some women will get interested in Naruto, but we'll just see where that goes without thinking about it. Just type away the words, right?

Whether Itachi is good or not you'll have to see for yourself. I am a fan of villains, though.

And then someone also mentioned the fact that overpowering everyone is stupid. Perhaps you're right, but if one person is overpowered, others have to be as well, otherwise the story will be boring.

The Akatsuki members will be stronger in this fic than in canon, too, just a heads-up. I was especially disappointed in how weak Deidara and Hidan were, their characters have a lot of potential. Not to mention Sasori, who seems to have used quite a bit of Fuuinjutsu in Canon…

Dosu and Tayuya are interesting characters and I hope I didn't rush their involvement in this fic. Overall, let me know if I rushed things too much in this chapter. I kinda wrote this without too many pauses, too.

I don't know if I can speed up my updates. I'm really motivated to write for this story, but I just don't always have the time. But rest assured, I write when I can.

Alright! On to the new techniques in this chapter!

Katon, Enshou no Jutsu – Fire Technique: Spread of Fire

Fuuton, Haisou no Jutsu – Wind Technique: Take Flight

Fuuton, Ku Kimakura – Wind Technique: Air Cushion

Oton, Kensou no Jutsu – Sound Technique: Tumult Technique (Primary Disorientation Skill, Secondary Distraction)

Oton, Shigo no Jutsu – Sound Technique: Murmur Technique (Primary Draining Skill, Secondary Distraction)

Kenpou; Bouseikon: Keihou no Jutsu – Tracking Technique: Warning, Alarm

And Naruto's team is called Team Unsan: Team Scatter and Disperse

As you might have noticed, the Shinobi in this fic are all getting stronger and stronger. Heroes and Villains alike. The explanation? I just like it that way.

I've probably forgotten something, but that'll give me a reason to look back, right?

Cheers


	15. Gatherings

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: Not pre-read. Apologies if I took too long updating.

* * *

Kirabi was sharpening two of his swords with each other as he approached the Gates of his Village leading out. He raised one of his eyebrows in a bit of curiosity as he stared at the two guards standing on each side of the Gate and looked up to see the two guards in the two small towers above the gate.

He was curious because the guards were all talking separately, not to each other. And they were having very lively conversations... with themselves.

"Hey, yo!" He started as he neared the two on the ground. "Idiots, morons! Who you talking to, there's no one listening to you!"

His eyebrow raised some more as they didn't respond at all to him. So he did the next best thing. What he always did when people didn't respond to him.

He started rapping loudly and dancing out of rhythm in front of them.

* * *

**Aerial Perspective**

_Chapter 14: Gatherings_

* * *

"What the hell is up with this guy?" Omoi frowned at the bleeding mess before him. "Why isn't he going down?"

Samui was hanging back as Karui and Omoi's combination techniques proved enough to deal with the weird grey-haired man in front of them. "Yugito-taichou, it seems he is... invulnerable to Kenjutsu?"

"Hmm... I'm afraid it's not just Kenjutsu..." Yugito murmured with a serious expression across her face. "I've put him under my strongest Genjutsu, strong enough to knock even a seasoned Jounin out..." She glanced to the side to see his partner, Kakuzu, if she'd heard correctly, still motionless. 'That wasted Genjutsu took a big chunk out of my reserves, too... These two are trouble.' She coughed once to think things through. "Samui, you should find an opening and get away. Get reinforcements here."

Samui, calm as ever, regarded her. "What about-"

"That won't happen." Yugito cut her off. "His partner is actually expecting me to summon or use signal birds." She just knew Kakuzu was grinning behind his mask. "As soon as things get rougher and that masked one joins in... you get away." She told her blonde subordinate. "I'll go... Jinchuuriki."

"Hooo? Hidan, stop fucking around!" Kakuzu barked as he overheard Yugito and Samui's conversation.

"Fuck you, Kakuzu! These two cowards sliced my entire body up! I'd like to see you try and move after that slicing shit!" Hidan yelled out, pointing at Kakuzu in dramatic fashion, before turning back to his two opponents. "You two are getting it now!"

Karui gripped her sword tighter. "Omoi, we've unleashed everything we have on him..."

Omoi nodded his head. "Electricity doesn't faze this guy either. I guess we´ll just have to try that."

Karui gave Omoi a short glance, careful not to let Hidan out of her sight. "Yeah. Let's cut him up!"

Hidan chuckled and changed from holding the scythe in his hand by its handle to holding it by the chain attached to it. "Come, weaklings!"

As Karui and Omoi nodded to each other and got ready to rush at him, Kakuzu yawned shortly. "This should be interesting."

Yugito took that as a warning and immediately prepared herself to jump in and save Omoi and Karui should anything go wrong and Samui was already inching closer.

As soon as Omoi and Karui vanished from Hidan's view, the greyhead yelled out "Kadou-Kirikata!" while Karui and Omoi both performed "Zettai-Kongouki!"

Unfortunately for Omoi and Karui, Hidan was swinging his scythe around him, creating an absolute defense. Omoi and Karui got away with a few scratches and landed in front of Samui and Yugito. "You two okay?" Yugito asked as she looked them over.

"Just a nick, taichou." Omoi uttered irritated.

Karui gritted her teeth. "How can he still move so fast? He should be on the ground, completely dead!"

Kakuzu still wasn't doing much of anything when Hidan suddenly started cackling madly. "You guys are soooooo screwed!" He managed to let out between his insane laughter.

"What the hell is that?" Karui tilted her head in confusion at the weird red triangle Hidan was standing in. "And how come he's changed skin color! He looks like a damn skeleton!"

"He just created the triangle." Samui answered coolly. "After licking his scythe he instantly changed into this form and then started drawing the triangle with his feet, with his own blood."

"….. I see. So he IS getting weirder, after all." Karui gave Hidan a dubious look. "Samui."

"Yeah, I'll join the combo this time." The blonde replied. "Close in and I'll follow-up."

Omoi and Karui both rushed forward again, this time closely followed by Samui. But Samui's eyes widened as Hidan stabbed himself in the leg with a short black sword he plucked from inside his cloak, screaming in pain and… delight? Samui stopped rushing after Karui and Omoi as they both fell to the ground screaming in pain.

"What happened?" She landed between Karui and Omoi and noticed they were both bleeding profusely from their right leg. She narrowed her eyes at Hidan, who had stabbed himself in the right leg. "You wound yourself, you wound them? A body-link technique?"

"Jashin has deemed you unworthy!" Hidan was chuckling at the sky. "A curse has fallen upon you and now only death awaits! Whahahaha!"

Samui wanted to move forward, but Hidan stopped her, while his face was still aimed at the sky. He seemed to be glancing down at her like this in mad fashion. "Make one move and the next stab is through the head, blondie! That goes for you too, Jinchuuriki!"

"Seems it's over. Hidan, kill them." Kakuzu said as he slowly started walking towards Yugito. "I'll take her out."

"You're not the boss, Kakuzu! I want to play a bit more!" With that, Hidan sliced his short sword across his chest, not too deeply. "Whahahaha!" He enjoyed the painful screams Karui and Omoi let out. His laughter died abruptly, though, as someone kicked him hard out of the triangle he was standing in.

"Akatsuki." The new arrival let out through clenched teeth.

While Naruto checked to see if everyone was still alright, Kakuzu instantly observed him thoroughly, he actually seemed interested in the new arrival. 'I didn't sense this kid… and he knows who we are. He seems prepared.'

"Hey, you fucker! I was in the middle of something! You bet-" he got cut off as Naruto appeared beside him and kicked him straight through a tree and then some.

'He's fast…' Kakuzu also noticed how Hidan was still flying through the air, away from them. 'And he's got serious power in his blows.'

"You two okay?" Naruto asked as he approached the struggling Omoi and Karui. They were in a lot of pain so he turned to Samui, while also creating two Shadow Clones. "My clones will carry Omoi and Karui. Get away from here, back to Kumogakure. I'll clean up."

"I'll stay back, too. They seem to be after me." Yugito appeared beside Naruto.

"You're pretty good." Kakuzu had his arms folded, staring at the trio before him. "We only need that girl beside you, kid. We'll let the rest of you go. You don't want to be killed here."

"Actually, you're after me too." Naruto glared hard at Kakuzu.

Kakuzu perked up a bit. "What, so you're a Jinchuuriki too? Those others don't have any worth and you two are just targets. This day isn't as lucrative as I hoped it'd be. I'll change the offer, then. Both of you come quietly and I won't kill anyone."

"Yugito-san, please leave this to me. I'll kill this guy and the other one." Was how Naruto responded to Kakuzu's generous offer.

"Naruto-san." Naruto didn't turn around, but Samui knew she had his attention as he had slightly turned his ear to her. "The other one can defeat you if he gets a hold of your blood."

Before Naruto could reply, the still present Akatsuki Member spoke up. "You pissed me off." Kakuzu was looking at the ground. He didn't like being ignored. "I've decided."

Naruto and Yugito readied themselves while Samui started following after Naruto's Kage Bunshin carrying the other two Kumo Chuunin.

With a scream, Kakuzu erupted into a bigger figure. Without any warning, a Wind Blast, a Fire Blast and a Lightning Blast erupted straight where Naruto and Yugito stood. They both got away and landed further away. "Three elements at once?" Yugito let out, impressed.

Naruto nodded his head. "Yeah… Somehow I think that's not all he can do. I'll take him out right now…"

Yugito's eyes widened as Chakra exploded around Naruto. As her vision returned to her and the smoke from Kakuzu's attack started clearing, she watched Naruto's Chakra Form. "W-what the hell is that?"

The Konoha-nin shook his head once. "Not now." Yugito let her jaw drop a bit as Naruto vanished into thin air, appearing behind Kakuzu with several… Chakra arms and… Chakra orbs?

"Rasenrangan!"

The great form Kakuzu was now, crashed hard into the ground, being hit by several Rasengan. As Naruto landed on the ground, he was shocked to see Kakuzu completely unharmed. 'Shit! Am I still not strong enough?'

"An attack like that won't harm me, brat!" Kakuzu, while being surrounded by black threads, seemed to be shining a metallic blue/grey.

"Raiton, Kazanrai!" Kakuzu snarled at the small thunderstorm Yugito sent his way, but he easily avoided it and in turn released a Wind Blast her way.

'His attacks are all so high-leveled!' Yugito thought as she quickly dashed backwards, where trees would shield her. Kakuzu's attack went straight through about twenty trees before it impacted on the ground, still sending Yugito flying harshly.

"I'll deal with you first." Kakuzu was deadly serious as he turned to Naruto. "I just know you're going to be a hassle."

Before Naruto could blink, his entire world turned black. "Gokubuto Maruyane…" Came Kakuzu's voice all around him. All of Kakuzu's threads were formed into a gigantic dome entrapping Naruto.

But the blonde wasn't too worried as he looked around. Flashes of white seem to be flashing on the walls and on the ceiling of the dome. "Fuuton, Atsugai!" The blonde Leaf Ninja just managed to spot that the Wind blast came from a white mask to his left. He had plenty of time to activate the Kyuufuu absorption seal on his outfit, though.

"An attack like that won't harm me, old man!" He echoed the previously spoken words right back to Kakuzu.

"Interesting… You seem to have a defense against Fuuton? How about this? Katon, Zukkoku!" Unfortunately, to switch between Element Absorption seals, an interval of five seconds existed. Naruto swore as he quickly appeared near a wall of black threads, having dodged the massive fire attack. But the moment he came close to the 'wall', the 'wall' attacked him. 'Threads he can control… So he can close this dome just like that? He's… toying with me?' Naruto quickly jumped into the smoke Kakuzu's previous attack created and performed Hiraishin to get out of the dome.

He had already planted a few Hiraishin seals around the clearing they were fighting in. From a distance, Naruto performed a few intricate handseals. "Youkon, Shounetsu Jigoku!" With red Chakra blazing wildly around him, Naruto's Chakra Cloak expanded wildly until Naruto seemed to throw the cloak off of him, towards Kakuzu's dome. The Chakra Cloak previously surrounding Naruto continued to expand as it approached the dome. It completely enveloped the dome, which was three times the size of the Hokage Tower, and made it burn red and purple.

As the dome was slowly falling apart, a single figure struggled to move forward in the midst of it all, glaring at Naruto. "Ugh… You managed… to kill three… of my five…" He fell to one knee. "You'll pay… for this."

Naruto had already reverted back to his normal form as soon as he released the Youkon Technique and he couldn't call it forth any longer. 'Shit, that attack took almost everything out of me… And he still isn't down!' His eyes widened as Kakuzu started rising up again. Desperately gathering Chakra again, Naruto performed another set of handseals. "Fuuton, Ren-"

"Not this time, you fucking brat!" Naruto's eyes were widened greatly as Hidan's scythe was penetrating the entire right side of his chest, piercing through his ribcage and puncturing his lungs. "You're dead!" He flung Naruto away and shot Kakuzu an unimpressed glance. "You had trouble with that weakling, Kakuzu?"

"Naruto!"

Hidan turned to see a red-haired boy standing by the bleeding mess that was Naruto. Kakuzu was now walking up to Hidan and staring at the scene as well. "That kid you just cut down is also a Jinchuuriki. It seems I exhausted his Chakra reserves."

"So you… cut him down?" Gaara's glare screamed for blood as he focused all his Killing Intent on Hidan.

"Damn right I did, ya loser! Are you his friend or something? Want to avenge him?" Hidan laughed louder and louder, while Kakuzu sighed. "Come here and get killed too, weakling!" The Jashin-follower taunted.

Before Hidan could continue, the ground all around him exploded and surrounded him. Kakuzu was quick enough to jump away from the sudden attack. 'Sand?' Kakuzu thought as he narrowed his eyes at the newcomer. 'Related to the Sandaime or Yondaime Kazekage, perhaps?'

Unsurprisingly, Hidan used his scythe to cut his way out of the dome of sand Gaara had created. 'He's strong… Not even a Fuuton Ninjutsu would grant such easy escape…' Gaara wanted to press further, but Naruto's voice stopped him.

"Guh-Gaara… Don't." Gaara didn't look away from Hidan and Kakuzu as Naruto started speaking. "Get out of here, they're both too strong."

"We're not the only ones anymore, Naruto." It wasn't Gaara's voice, but Yugito's who spoke up next. It seems she had just arrived with the company of one team from Konoha, Naruto's remaining subordinates.

"Hey, yo! Oh Yeahh, baby! Kirabi's at the scene, ready to intervene!" Kirabi had landed in front of Naruto's team. "You better run from here, or you're going to disappear!"

"The eight-tailed Jinchuuriki." Kakuzu informed his partner. "A few leaf Chuunin and another fresh Jinchuuriki…" The masked Kakuzu seemed to ponder about. The battle before has left him without the Akatsuki cloak. "We're retreating, Hidan."

"What? Why? Are you tired, you coward?" Hidan yelled obscenities one after another.

"Quiet down, you infuriating mosquito." Kakuzu silenced his ranting. "Or I'll kill you."

"You can try, fucker!" Hidan brought his scythe down on Kakuzu's face, but Kakuzu beat him to the punch and sent the Jashin-follower into the dirt.

"We're leaving. I would have stayed if any of these fools had strong hearts, but they don't. I'm not risking my own for some malfunctioning or weak ones." Before Hidan could speak up, Kakuzu had one hardened thread around his neck. "Try me, Hidan. I'll cut off your head."

Hidan merely grumbled, recognizing his superior. "Fine, ya loser. We'll leave them to die for another day."

The group watched the two Akatsuki members Shunshin away, before they all turned to the horribly wounded Naruto. "To Kumo! As fast as we can!"

* * *

**TIMESKIP – two months**

* * *

Disdain was all he felt for the village he was walking through now. His team was accompanied by two Jounin simply because he was a Hyuga and he imagined there would be more for Hinata, who was from the Main Branch. He wondered, if he was the one protecting Hinata, would he really protect her here in Kumo?

But then, knowing Kumo, they would kill him, anyway.

No, in here, he had to be on guard at all times.

"Don't worry, Neji. The Green Beast shall protect you!"

Neji resisted the urge to bristle at his sensei and chose to glare at the other Jounin with them, one Shiranui Genma. The senbon-chewing man had spoken little on the way to Kumo, even to Gai.

"Gai-sensei! I can see a Shinobi in Kumo uniform!"

Not able to fight it, Neji rolled his eyes at his clueless teammate. He wanted to comment on his ridiculousness, but Ten-Ten beat him to the punch. "Of course, Lee, we're already in the Village, you idiot!"

Gai hadn't heard apparently. "Excellent observation, my student! We must be in Kumogakure!"

Right then and there, Neji really wanted to turn back and head for Konoha.

He grumbled inwardly as Gai and Genma suddenly stopped walking in front of him. He shot a casual glance ahead to see why they stopped only to see a familiar face. He didn't remember the girl's name, but he knew she was a former Suna-nin, now turned Leaf. He recalled she wore her hair in four pigtails, but now she wore it in loose, with one tail sticking out on the right side of her head. Bangs weren't covering her eyes thanks to the Konoha Hitai-Ate on her forehead.

"You're early." The girl started. "I'm Sabaku no Temari, I'll be helping you get familiar with Kumo, though I still don't know most of it. I do know where the Konoha teams are staying so… which team are you?"

"Young blossoming girl! My name is Maito Gai!" He yelled out loud, bowing deeply.

His student, seeing this, didn't want to be outdone. "Hoooaaaaaahhh! Yosh! I am Rock! Lee!" Strangely enough, he bowed even deeper; with his forehead almost touching the ground.

Temari stared dumbfounded at the duo as they, whilst bowing, yelled each other's name at each other. Genma stepped forward and offered her a hand. "Shiranui Genma, and you can ignore these two."

Temari took his hand and expected the remaining two to introduce themselves.

"Hyuga Neji."

"Ten-Ten. Your brother defeated me during the previous Chuunin Exams."

The girl actually glared at her, Temari noticed amusedly. "My brother is crazy strong, don't let it get to you."

And then she noticed Genma was still holding her hand. "You can let go now." She deadpanned.

The Jounin grinned, but let go. "You're still a Genin, right? Why are you leading us around here?"

"I was ordered to." The blonde girl shrugged. "Am I to assume the others will also be arriving earlier than expected? Your team is two days early."

Genma shook his head. "No, you shouldn't. These two are insane when it comes to travelling." He explained, pointing to the still bowing duo crying out each other's name. As Temari started walking, it took about three more minutes before Gai and Lee finally followed.

* * *

"Maito Gai, Shiranui Genma, Hyuga Neji, Rock Lee and Ten-Ten."

"We don't know that Genma guy, right?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"This time we can just observe the Chuunin Exams, it's our given mission anyway!"

Three Fuuin Bunshin were walking around team Gai, idly talking to each other as they couldn't be heard by the others anyway. Only the Hyuga might be able to see them as clouds of Chakra should he activate his Doujutsu, but he wouldn't be any wiser about it.

"I wonder if our old team is participating."

"Knowing Kakashi? I think you don't have to worry about that."

* * *

The sounds of someone panting filled the clearing. Craters, blown down trees and crushed boulders were all the results of a vicious battle just moments prior.

"Man, you've gotten good…" Naruto was in and exhaling loudly, obviously tired. He was supporting his upper frame with his hands on his knees, while contemplating what to do next.

His opponent was doing far less well lying on the ground, not even able to stand up anymore. "N… Ughj!" He wanted to speak, but a very dry cough interrupted. "Not… good enough."

Naruto decided not to mention the fact he had used Gogyo Fuin on himself before the battle, to make things more challenging. "You never told me…" He started in between the panting. "Your other hand has a technique hidden as well! The same… as your previous teammate, right?"

Dosu wanted to sit up but found out the hard way, a massive cramp in his neck, that he couldn't. He held in a yelp of pain, though. "Not really much of a teammate. His name was Zaku and he was a fool." The former Sound-nin couldn't do anything but look up at the sky. He was just THAT tired.

"We should get moving." The blonde let out a breath of slight annoyance. He never did like stopping a spar or training. "Let's go, Dosu." He didn't know Dosu was in no condition to be moving around yet.

"… hand me a soldier pill."

* * *

The first day of the Chuunin Exams would be in two weeks. Already Shinobi from other Villages were walking through the gates of Kumo. Naruto had received a letter from his Hokage that three members of his team were allowed to participate if he wanted them to. With the exception of Tayuya, who was still in sort of a probation period.

Apparently, Gai's, Kakashi's, Asuma's and Kurenai's team have been entered. Konoha was allowed to enter six teams this time. Only four have been entered so far.

He talked it over with his team and they all wanted to become Chuunin, of course. It all came down to Jan-Ken-Pon.

Naruto had already decided to enter Gaara, just to have a strong guy in the Chuunin Exam. Dosu beat Kankurou with rock to scissor as they've all decided a girl should also be entered. So from team Naruto; Gaara, Dosu and Temari would be in the Chuunin Exams.

"Fancy seeing you here."

Naruto was leaning against the wall opposite of the entrance of the Raikage's office when he heard his voice. "Kakashi-sensei!" Of course, he knew when team Kakashi entered Kumo, as he had Fuuin Bunshin patrolling all over the place. "It's been a while." He tried to sound mature.

Kakashi simply smiled and joined his former student. "You have a meeting with Raikage-sama?"

The Jinchuuriki held up a hand. "We all do. I have my own team in this Chuunin Exams, so I expect the other Jounin from Konoha here at any time."

"You're not a Jounin." The copycat pointed out.

Nervously scratching his head, Naruto grinned sheepishly. "I may not be in Konoha, but they dubbed me Jounin here in Kumo."

"… They did?"

"Yeah, it's a long story." He shrugged at Kakashi. "Here's the rest."

Just as he said, rounding the corner, came Yuuhi Kurenai, Maito Gai, Sarutobi Asuma, Shiranui Genma and Mitarashi Anko. Their subordinates were currently staying in their temporarily living quarters.

"Who's the brat?"

Naruto considered the purple-haired dango-chewing woman approaching the two of them with a curious glance, not really knowing who she was, but remembering her from the Chuunin Exams in Konoha. "This is my former student, Uzumaki Naruto."

The apparent lack of surprise on Anko's face came as a slight surprise to Naruto. 'She already knew who I was… Why ask the question?'

"Why are you wearing a Kumo Jounin Uniform, brat?" Anko came to a stop in front of him, her eyes strangely intimidating.

Naruto didn't change his leaning form and calmly answered. "I ran out of clothes... I didn't know I'd be staying here for such a long time." He had bought new clothes, but they were all dirty at the moment.

"Why did they give you a Jounin Uniform, Naruto?" Asuma asked, while offering Kakashi a cigarette at the same time. The copycat declined.

"Because they somehow got this idea in their head I'm actually a Jounin." Naruto didn't miss a beat, relieved Anko stepped away from him to lean beside him against the same wall. "You guys are all early. Antsy, huh?"

"Someone thinks he's a big shot now, huh?" Anko instantly shot back. Her grin was a bit too evil for Naruto's taste as she said that.

"You guys should be quiet." Came a grey-haired, tanned woman's voice, approaching them. She wore her hair in a bun, while loose strands framed her face. "Raikage-sama doesn't like noise."

Naruto dared to scoff at the remark, surprising the Jounin present.

"Mind your manners, Naruto." The grey-haired woman gave him a very short smile, as if it was never there to begin with. They then noticed the desk next to the doors leading to the Raikage's office. It was actually her desk. It had been empty before.

'Seems he's getting friendly with Kumo…' Kakashi surmised as Naruto walked up to the, what seemed to be, Raikage's assistant.

"Mabui-chan! How long's he going to take doing sit-ups in there?" All Konoha Jounin fell silent at that and Mabui bristled at Naruto.

"Be quiet, he can hear you, Naruto!"

"Good!" He yelled and then a door came crashing into Naruto.

"Naruto, shut up and get in here already! I've been waiting for hours!" A, with his arms folded, stood in the opening of his office, seeing as the doors were now gone.

The leader of Cloud looked as powerful as ever. His big intimidating form told the others he wasn't someone you could mess with. "You're a poor Kage, A, why aren't you wearing your robe?" Of course, Naruto wasn't intimidated. The rest had to admit they wondered why the Raikage was only wearing pants. He was even barefoot.

A small bolt of lightning paralyzed Naruto. "Be quiet." A ordered as he mentioned to the others to enter his office. He wouldn't tell them he had just been doing sit-ups. "I didn't know Konoha-nin were so punctual."

Everyone from Konoha looked at Kakashi. "Most of us are." Kurenai replied as she looked at Naruto. "Is he…?"

"Brat'll be fine. Takes a few seconds, usually. Have to know somehow if he isn't actually a damned Kage Bunshin." A showed them a toothy grin. "Let's talk Chuunin Exams! I wish to borrow one of your own for the third test."

* * *

"Hey, it's Naruto!"

Shikamaru cringed at Ino's always loud voice, before taking his gaze up from the ground. 'What a drag… if Hokage-sama sees him in Kumo uniform he'll be in trouble.' The Nara noticed Naruto wasn't alone as a Kumo Chuunin was walking next to him.

"Naruto!" Chouji yelled to get his attention. They were currently walking through a mildly busy street as most shops were closing. It was close to night already. "Over here!"

"Chouji?" The blonde Chuunin approached the three Genin with a knowing smile on his face. "So, you're going for Chuunin again?"

"I had to drag these two slackers along!" Ino explained, before narrowing her eyes at Naruto and the girl next to him. "I never did congratulate you, did I?" She held out her hand, which Naruto gladly took. "How's it feel? Being Chuunin?"

"Not that different." Naruto shrugged, before pointing a thumb at the girl next to him. "This is Samui, also a Chuunin. Samui, these are Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji and Yamanaka Ino."

As they all shook heads and introduced each other, Ino shot Naruto a speculative look. 'He's changed so much from the loudmouth he used to be. He seems more… mature. Who'd have guessed the class clown would become Chuunin before all of us?' As she remembered the matches of the Chuunin Exams in Konoha, she had to admit Naruto deserved the title.

"Naruto told me his own team is also participating in the Chuunin Exams. I expect good things from them." Samui's voice brought her out of her musings.

"Ha! We'll blow your team away, Naruto!" Ino immediately shouted.

"Your team? You have a team?" When Shikamaru said that, Ino had to admit her first reaction should have been more among those lines.

"Yeah, I have a team of five Genin. Three of them are also in the Exams. You better watch your back, they're really good." Naruto boasted a bit.

"So, you're a Chuunin, but you have your own team?" The Akimichi of the group asked.

"Uh, why're you wearing a Kumo Uniform, Naruto?" Ino asked, just noticing it and looking him over. 'Hate to admit it, but they look sharper than Konoha Uniforms.'

"I uh…. ran out of my own outfits because of training." The blonde Chuunin scratched the back of his head in slight embarrassment. All the Fuuinjutsu seals he implemented in his usual outfit weren't in this one. He didn't trust it, who knows these things might be traceable.

"You two on a date?"

Naruto and Samui regarded each other, before turning back to Ino. "No, we're not." Samui was the one who answered. "Just like with you, we just walked into each other. Coincidentally, we're both looking for a place to have dinner."

"… Coincidentally?" Ino deadpanned, before smirking at the slightly older girl who, much to her chagrin, was very well developed in certain… areas. "Coincidentally, we are ALSO looking for a place to eat."

"We'd best find somewhere then." Samui's cold demeanor somehow got to Ino.

"Samui-san, you said you knew a good Ramen sho-"

"We're not eating ramen, Naruto!" Ino screeched. 'Well, at least some things don't change.' The Yamanaka walked behind and couldn't help but notice the changes Naruto had undergone. 'Guy actually looks like a decent Shinobi now…'

His hair was a lot longer than the last time she saw him. He could easily wear it in a ponytail, but he didn't, creating a huge mess of blonde hair all around his face. The Hitai-ate was probably what kept all the bangs away from his eyes. He had also grown a lot taller and was now the same height as Shikamaru… which was taller than herself. Naruto was no short shrimp anymore.

Samui, walking next to Naruto, was about the same height, only slightly shorter. "What are you doing in Kumo, Naruto?" She heard Chouji ask Naruto.

"It's a long story… I'll tell during dinner!"

* * *

His best friend was in his own perfect little world, eating away with all his might. Another barbeque place, he should have known. Picking away at his own food in a much slower rate, Shikamaru made some small talk with the other people at the table, but was mostly observing, as always. Ino was the one who was talking the most, also, as always.

"So we went on a mission with team Eight, you know, with Hinata, Kiba and Shino? Man, Kiba's such a prick!" Shikamaru had a knack for tuning out incessant noises. Ino was talking about something he had heard before, anyway. How Kiba held a grudge against her for beating him during the Chuunin Exams. He might have found it amusing if he would take the time to think about it. He didn't.

"Team 8, huh? I think Shino's good." He heard Naruto say. "I wish I could always stay as calm as he is."

This made Shikamaru narrow his eyes a bit at his own food. 'Naruto's changed so much if he can even point out his own flaws without shame.'

"So, why are you here, Naruto? You've been gone for a long time, about… four months?" Ino grinned at him, having not touched her own plate of meat yet. "Konoha's pretty quiet these days!"

The male blonde grinned back, while allowing Samui, from his left, to grab the salt to his right. "I've been here for almost three months, actually. Hokage-sama gave me permission to run missions from Kumo for the time being. Raikage-sama didn't mind. Right, Samui?"

The Kumo-nin nodded her head, her expression still neutral while chewing on some piece of food. After swallowing it down, she looked at the Konoha-nin in front of her. "Raikage-sama has allowed Naruto and his team to join missions with our own team. They do not get paid. Or rather, Kumo does not pay them."

"Yeah and it's all boring missions too." Naruto whined, cutting a piece of meat in two on his plate. "Mostly escort and retrieval. We haven't had any real action for weeks!"

'Weeks? So he did have 'real action' about a month ago?' Shikamaru read between the lines. 'The Chuunin with him doesn't seem to be keeping tabs on him, so he can just walk around freely here, too?'

"How can your team enter the Chuunin Exams, Naruto?" The young Nara finally spoke up, having finished his meal. "No offense, but they all haven't been… Konoha-nin… for a very long time."

The only Konoha Chuunin at the table shortly wiped his mouth with a handkerchief before replying. "You're right, they haven't. But Hokage-sama did give me permission to enter them. That's all I know and I do have faith in my… subordinates." He still struggled with the word. "I trust them, too."

"So I'm guessing Sabaku no Gaara is in this Exam?" Shikamaru continued.

Naruto smiled at the Nara. While the blonde knew Shikamaru would become a very close friend in the future, they were not real friends at the moment. "Yeah, he's in. But he's not the only one you should worry about. The others are just as dangerous." A gleam of mischief danced over his orbs as he said this. "But it seems you know who's in my team?"

The Nara had to admit that the blonde had become more perceptive and nodded. "Kinuta Dosu and the Sabaku three."

"Correct, but there's another one. I'll let you find out for yourself who the final member of my team is."

"So you have five Genin working under you?" Ino asked. "That's pretty cool, Naruto!"

Shikamaru didn't know there was another member, but realized he probably wouldn't find out who it was. "So who are the other two you're entering?"

"Dosu, Gaara and Temari." Naruto answered truthfully. He didn't see any harm in telling Shikamaru. "I'll warn my team about you, you know? They'll be prepared for your skills. A good captain prepares his team."

"What about us? We are your comrades too, right?" The blonde of Team Ten responded immediately. "Tell us about their skills!"

Instead of Naruto, Shikamaru answered. "We already know, Ino. They've all participated in the previous Exam, remember?" He then tilted his head, looked at Naruto and released an agitated sigh. "It's a troublesome team, though… Sound, Sand and Wind…"

"Ho? You're good, Shikamaru."

But the Nara was deep in thought. 'If the Chuunin Exams here in Kumo are the same as in Konoha… Then we definitely have to avoid that team…'

* * *

The next day, Naruto was summoned by Kakashi, by use of a crumbled piece of paper handed it him by Kankurou.

"Yo."

Kakashi wasn't surprised that Naruto could sneak up to him these days. "Chakra signature sensing and Hiraishin, Naruto? All that on your day off?"

It would take a reasonable chunk out of one's Chakra Reserves, but Naruto was a Jinchuuriki, thankfully. "You… do know how Hiraishin works, right, Kakashi-sensei? It takes a bit more than just sensing a Chakra Signature."

Closing the small book he was reading, Kakashi turned to him. "I know. You probably stuck some Fuuin seal on me, huh?"

"A long time ago, during a spar, I used Oitsumeru on you. It was tricky, too, had to use several clones to pull it off without you noticing it." The blonde explained as he took a look at the small park Kakashi was in. "Are you… slacking off, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Haha…" Kakashi 'chuckled' a bit. "No, I'm waiting for the others."

"Oh, I see… You've received another mission?"

Kakashi made a single motion with his hand telling Naruto not to mention anything else. "We'll wait."

Naruto understood, there might be eavesdroppers. What better place to have a private meeting than out in the open? As moments passed, they were joined, respectively, by Yuuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma, Maito Gai, Shiranui Genma and Mitarashi Anko.

"Naruto, could you perform an encrypted Sound Barrier?"

The only Chuunin present blinked at his former teacher. "How do you…"

The copycat cut him off. "Can you do it?"

He nodded, still somewhat surprised. "Kenpou: Maton; Zettai Fugen." He whispered after a few complicated handseals. "Perhaps it's smart if-"

Kakashi cut him off again. "Kurenai's already on it."

With a sound barrier and a powerful Genjutsu around them, Kakashi knew he could speak freely. "Where's Gai?" He heard Naruto ask.

"He's watching our backs for anything that could disrupt our little meeting." Kakashi took a look at the Jounin around him, with Sharingan revealed, to check for any anomalies. Sensing none, he started. "The seven of us have an extra mission during these Chuunin Exams. I will be your commanding officer."

"Now… I know Genma and Anko already have the mission to watch and protect the Hyuga, while Naruto has his infiltration mission still active and since yesterday a role in the Second Test of the Chuunin Exams. This mission therefore rests mainly on my, Gai's, Asuma's and Kurenai's shoulders. But should it be necessary, it is required of all of you to assist us at any time." He then turned to Naruto. "You will be anchor point for the entire duration of our stay in Kumo. Because you know the Hiraishin."

Naruto was amazed when Kakashi suddenly pulled out a few Hiraishin Kunai. "Can you still work with these?"

Kakashi handed him the string of Kunai and watched Naruto frown. "These are the same seals… mostly, but… Give me a day to figure things out."

The lazy Jounin nodded his head. "Now, on to our mission."

Everyone turned to him seriously.

"The retrieval of the body of Hyuga Hizashi."

Naruto didn't comprehend. "I don't have any active Fuuin Bunshin at the moment, because when I create Fuuin Bunshin, they also copy what I wear… But I've had them active for the entire first month I was here. I haven't come across anyone mentioning that name…"

Kakashi nodded again. "That's fine… I have a few ideas on where the body is kept. My first order to you is to make sure you fix your uniform, Naruto."

* * *

Gaara was practicing his sand transformation skills and was currently, literally… a raging tornado of sand. Contrary to popular belief, transforming your body… hurts like hell. By practicing this, Gaara would somehow raise his own resistance against the pain of sand transformation.

Close to where he was training, but far away to not get hurt by Gaara's wide scale practices, Dosu was tinkering with a few of the metal devices on his body, while seated on a tree branch. The insides of his ears, his mouth, his right arm, his right eye, the palm of his left hand and his chest were metallic.

At the moment, he was checking the insides of his right arm, having gathered enough information to make small adjustments. 'This thing could be smaller…'

"Hey, yo!"

Time stood still.

Dosu sat completely frozen while the sand tornado that was Gaara had completely dwindled down, to see a wide-eyed Gaara.

These two really didn't like Kirabi's presence. Not only because of his out of tune rapping and out of rhythm dancing, but also because Kirabi was… undoubtedly stronger than them. It irked the both of them a bit more than much.

Gaara materialized immediately, letting the wind take him far away. As Kirabi watched the sand scatter, he turned to Dosu… only to see an empty tree branch. He wanted to follow after the mummy-like Shinobi, but realized the footsteps he was hearing were coming from every direction.

"Damn slackers be lazy, with me they ought to go crazy!" The eight-tailed Jinchuuriki pointed his right arm up at the sky. "Kirabi is amazing you should be appraising!"

"Sensei, why did we come here?"

Kirabi only then seemed to notice his three students. "You guys are late, Kirabi says it straight!"

Karui spoke up again. "Shut up!"

* * *

"He's a bit weird."

Temari was busy cooking up a meal in the kitchen when Tayuya suddenly joined her in the kitchen. She didn't like cooking and didn't care at all whether people like her cooking. But she made a deal with Kankurou and Gaara to take turns. Naruto was in some kind of meeting and Dosu was still off training with Gaara. Tayuya would be joining her and Kankurou for dinner tonight.

"Who's weird?" Temari asked as she checked the taste of the soup she was boiling with a spoon.

"Naruto. How can such an aloof person be our captain?" The redhead continued, carefully watching the spoon in Temari's hands and making sure she wouldn't let that same spoon touch the soup again.

"Aloof? He acts all happy-go-lucky, but that's all bullshit. You haven't seen him in a serious fight like I have. I was there when he defeated that guy called Kimimaro." She threw the spoon in the zinc before deciding to add some salt to the soup. "Before that, he defeated a Suna Jounin with one hit. You'll see, eventually, just who he is."

"That kid's strong… I mean, we're both his senior. We should be giving HIM orders."

"Maybe, maybe not." Temari shrugged, before walking out of the kitchen and noticing her brother tinkering with a new metal puppet. "Kankurou! Stop playing with your toys and set the table!"

Kankurou offered a dry look.

* * *

He was off training by himself, practicing and perfecting his newer set of Jutsu, when he sensed someone nearby. 'Probably been there for quite some time… I really have to practice not getting sneaked up on. Thankfully I haven't practiced any… revealing Jutsu.'

Naruto stopped what he was doing and faced the tree he sensed the Shinobi in. "What's up?"

He was surprised to see Mitarashi Anko jump down with a devious smirk on her face. "I'm in for a bit of a spar, kid. You up for a battle of tag?"

"… You want to play tag?" The blonde stared blankly, almost through Anko.

"You run, I throw Kunai. You stop, I kick your ass." She offered.

"No thanks, Anko-san." He bowed shortly. "I was just heading home."

Anko used Shunshin to get behind him, but was shocked to find Naruto used Shunshin almost instantly after to get behind her. "Impressive, brat."

"You're… not going to just let me go, huh? I kinda have a busy schedule, you know?"

"You have something better to do than hang out with me?" Anko was pleased he knew when not to answer a question. He was still standing behind her when she, with Kunai in hand, planned to strike him. But Naruto had appeared behind her again as she turned.

She pouted, quite cutely, Naruto had to admit. "You're fast. That's really boring."

'If we spar and I don't hold back, she'll tell that old man just how strong I really am…' Were Naruto's thoughts as he tried to think of a way to get out of the weird situation he was in. 'I have a feeling that, if I do hold back, she's gonna notice and force me to up the ante. Not cool.' He blinked, quickly deciding not to copy that particular phrase from Samui.

And then Anko started performing handseals.

'Shit on a stick…' Naruto snarled.

* * *

"I want you all quiet." Came a lazy drawl from a guy standing in front of a gathering of loud Genin. "If you won't be quiet in five seconds, you will be disqualified." Darui actually hoped they didn't hear him so he could just end this Chuunin Exam this instant.

Unfortunately, some people DID hear and they relayed the message.

He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, letting his crowd know he did NOT want to be here. "I assume you all expect to become Chuunin…" His voice actually made you just want to sleep.

In the crowd, Ino jabbed Shikamaru in the rib and asked if they were related.

Somewhere in the back, Sasuke was leaning against a wall, with Sai seated on the ground next to him. Sakura was standing in front of them, listening intently.

Kiba was up in the front, checking out the competition, knowing Hinata and Shino were listening to the proctor's story.

Ten-Ten was keeping Lee's mouth shut, as he was always quick to yell and shout. Neji looked like he wanted to use Kaiten in the crowded room.

"But that won't happen." He didn't crack a smile. It was no joke. "The first test is a battle. Only one member of your team is allowed to partake in this battle. You have five minutes to decide which of you will be taking this test. That one member is responsible for your team's advance to the Second Test of the Chuunin Exam. Choose wisely."

While it was quite obvious Gaara was the stronger member of their team of three, Temari and Dosu were no slouches either. They both expected Gaara to say he'll fight as he turned to them, but to their surprise, he said:

"Rock, Paper, Scissors?"

As Darui observed the teams of blabbering Genin in front of him, he had to resist the urge to chuckle.

He never DID say what kind of battle if was going to be…

* * *

**TBC**

Oh, what happened during the Time-Skip, you ask? Well, that's for you to find out next chapter! Along with a training session from the past! Or is it future?

Some Notes:

There's a whole piece of an Akatsuki meeting I decided to cut and implement in the next chapter.

I might be rewriting some scenes of this chapter, because some are rather short.

Well, thanks for reading! Hope to have a bit more of that extra free time to continue writing!

In the next chap, Naruto will be thinking a bit deeper on the entire situation he's in... He's also going to be making some big decisions.


	16. Inevitable Turns

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: Not pre-read. Apologies if I took too long updating.

* * *

Electricity sizzled around his right hand, his eyes fixated on the opponent before him. "There's no dodging this one."

"Hmmm, should you really be using that one?"

"Don't worry, this one won't kill you."

He balled his right hand into a fist, controlling the lightning. "Ni Rai Ookami no Jutsu!" And then he seemed to throw the lightning towards his opponent. Two wolves made of electricity raced forward in impressive speed.

Naruto just activated his Kyuurai seal and ran towards Kakashi, through the two wolves that dissolved around him like they were nothing.

Kakashi jumped backwards, not even slightly surprised. "As I expected, you have some form of Chakra absorption skill, that allows you to take in elemental Chakra." He tapped the skin close to his Sharingan eye. "I saw how my Chakra became your Chakra."

The blonde nin stopped advancing and took a look at the relaxed form of his former sensei. "Are you just trying to figure out my skills, sensei? That's kinda rude."

"What's rude is you hiding things from your teacher." The Jounin performed a few handseals again. "Suiton, Mizu Rappa!" He shot out a powerful stream of water towards his former student.

Again, Naruto walked through his Jutsu, without getting even wet. He used his Kyuusui seal as there was plenty of time in between. "You used this during that time when we had to face off against Zabuza, right? You can do this to all elements?" Kakashi tilted his head. "My former sensei had something very similar to this, Naruto. Fuuinjutsu's a really scary thing."

"My dad, huh?" Naruto cracked his knuckles. "Come on, Kakashi-sensei." He motioned for him to start attacking again.

"You… have control over a second element, Naruto?" Kakashi halted his movements. "I'm sure you've been practicing a lot."

"Doton." Naruto nodded his head. "I have a few Jutsu, but nothing at the same level of the Fuuton Jutsu I have. Why?"

"You've come up with a few interesting Fuuton Jutsu, I was wondering if you have a few interesting Doton techniques?"

The blonde put up a frown. "What? You're going to copy my original techniques?"

Kakashi shrugged. "And point out the weaknesses, of course. I'm your sensei, I can help you perfect your Jutsu."

"That sounds like a pretty convenient excuse." The Jinchuuriki chuckled. "But I'll have to disappoint either way. I only have a few C-ranked ones."

Kakashi sighed shortly. "Oh well, didn't hurt to try. I actually came to tell you about an extra mission that was given to Mitarashi Anko. She's to test your abilities for real. Neither me nor the Hokage knows how strong you really are and he wants to find out. Good luck!" With that, the lazy Jounin shunshined away.

"I'll just use Hiraishin to get away from that crazy lady." Naruto muttered as he left for home. In the back of his head, he was wondering how his subordinates were doing in the Chuunin Exams.

* * *

**Aerial Perspective**

_Chapter 15: Inevitable Turns_

* * *

Kinuta Dosu was grinning behind his mask as he stepped forward. He had beaten both Gaara and Temari with Paper to Rocks. Now all what was left to do was win this battle of the first test.

"Looks like everyone has decided." Darui lazily drawled. "Alright, the rest of you stays in this classroom. Those who represent their team, follow me."

Gaara and Temari looked at each other as part of the people in the room left. "Where do you think they're going?" Temari asked her brother.

"Daisan no Me." Gaara muttered as an eye of sand hovered around him. "I will keep an eye on Dosu." The hovering third eye went out the window, in search for their teammate.

The classroom was quiet, until Darui suddenly appeared in the classroom again. "I'll go ahead and assume you've chosen the strongest member of your team to represent you."

'No way!' Sakura's eyes widened at the cheap trick. From her team, Sasuke had insisted to fight. But thankfully, while she was hesitant to admit it, Sai was stronger than Sasuke. So Darui was wrong about her team. From the corner of her eye, she saw how, from Naruto's team, Gaara was also still present. So their team wasn't in trouble either.

"The smarter ones might have figured out that the one sent away will not be participating in this first test. No, one of the two left from your team here will be chosen to fight a member from the other team, in this classroom. To make matters worse, there will be rules to this battle."

Darui looked to see, because he had his eyes closed the entire time, if he had everyone's attention. Once confirmed, he continued. "One, I will choose who fights who. Two, you are not allowed to wreck ANYTHING in this room. If you do, you will lose instantly." Everyone looked to see many tables and chairs in the classroom. The classroom which before they had considered big, but now viewed as too small to have a real fight in. "And three, you're not allowed to use Chakra to enhance your movements. So no sticking to the walls or ceiling." Darui folded his arms. 'It also means no enhancing your speed or using shunshin, but I doubt any of these brats know how to do that.'

"Alright! First up…" He grabbed a list of the names of all Genin present. He had crossed out the names of the ones who had already left the room. "Konoha-nin Yamanaka Ino versus Kumo-nin Yukiriki Ichijo. Please confirm you know the rules." Ino and Ichijo, a boy with short green hair and a slight tan nodded to him.

"Very well. Whenever you're ready."

Gaara held a hand in front of his mouth to hide his growing grin, which caught Temari's attention. "Hm? What's so funny, Gaara?"

"Dosu's going to be disappointed when he finds out he's not fighting at all. His paper to our rock was actually his loss."

Temari copied Gaara's movements, though she actually had to hide some laughter.

* * *

"Zetsu has come with rather disturbing news."

It had been a while for all of them to be together like this. Uchiha Itachi was looking at the other members of the Akatsuki with his Sharingan, as always, active. Everyone wasn't really present, except for Pein, who used a special Jutsu for all the others to be present through him.

There was Zetsu, his shape easily recognizable. The venus flytrap Shinobi had eyes and ears all over the land, nothing really escaped him. He was the ultimate spy.

Even through the image Pein allowed for him to have in this meeting, Chakra was still rolling off of Kisame like it was nothing. The shark-like man seemed unable to not grin.

Hidan, in crouched form on top of one of the fingers of the Sealing Statue, radiated annoyance, like he always did. Itachi didn't care.

Kakuzu seemed to be carrying a suitcase over his shoulder, probably filled with money from another bounty. Itachi liked Kakuzu, he was a no-nonsense kind of man. That, and he has probably lived longer than all the others here.

The ever-quiet Konan stood close to Pein, but was surprisingly not present in body, which she usually was. Her shape was… stoic. Itachi imagined it was similar to his own shape.

Deidara was seated on a finger of the statue, seemingly without a care in the world. In fact, it seemed he was busy doing something with his hands. It seemed you didn't really have to be meditating, or be completely still, for Pein's Jutsu to work.

Sasori was close to Deidara, unsurprisingly hidden in Hiruko, his puppet. So Sasori couldn't be read at all.

Tobi was jumping up and down on the finger, not able to keep still. But Itachi knew what was behind the cheerful façade.

He turned back to Pein, having made these observations in less than two seconds, the equal amount of time Pein's pause took.

"Itachi and Kisame, while faced with three Jinchuuriki, came back with none. This was understandable, as the Raikage and Jiraiya-sama were both present."

The Uchiha didn't let his eyes narrow, but he always did wonder why Pein showed so much respect for Jiraiya.

A few snorts came from some members, but that was to be expected. Akatsuki did have a few arrogant members, after all.

"And it is no easy feat facing three Jinchuuriki at the same time. I'll have to admit you did admirable getting away." Pein continued. "But you did give them a good warning. Taking out two Jinchuuriki and a Kage in seconds left them with a good impression on how strong the Akatsuki is."

"And he did it all by himself, too…" Kisame grumbled, still not liking the little action he had during that scuffle.

"About a month later, both Hidan and Kakuzu came face to face with the Kyuubi and the Nibi Jinchuuriki. While the Nibi Jinchuuriki is a Jounin, the Kyuubi one is but a Chuunin. Someone from Akatsuki should have no trouble with a Jounin and a Chuunin." He glared shortly at both Hidan and Kakuzu, but it swam away from his face. "But Jinchuuriki can be tricky to deal with. Itachi…."

Itachi slightly raised his head.

"Did you fight the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki?"

"No, I used Tsukiyomi, as both the Kyuubi and the Shukaku Jinchuuriki seemed about to transform. I didn't need chaos." He explained. He had told Pein this before, but not in a meeting with all members. He hadn't even told anyone about how he saw nothing but blackness after using the Shouraizou at that time.

"It's bothersome if they can both transform. The Shukaku Jinchuuriki has become a Konoha-nin. Sunagakure is very weak at the moment and at war with Konoha. Perhaps… we can join Suna. In disguise, we can deal several blows to Konoha, which seems to be growing too strong lately. The same applies to Kumogakure. There's talk of a possible alliance between the two, but I think that won't happen, considering certain happenings in the past."

Pein moved his gaze away from Itachi. "Sasori, Deidara… your objective will be the One-tail. Bring him in. Hidan and Kakuzu, bring in the Two-tail. The rest will focus on missions from Tsuchigakure and on bounties. Dismissed."

He didn't have to say that this meant Sasori, Deidara, Hidan and Kakuzu were supposed to work together, as the one-tail and the two-tail were both in Kumo. No, the leader never pointed out the obvious.

* * *

**FLASHBACK  
**

"_It is impossible for you to utilize all elements." He paused to unwrap a scroll on the ground and motioned for his listener to sit down. "But I've found a way to switch body affinity. With it, you are able to use all elements, just not at the same time. The Fuuinjutsu required for this takes a few seconds to activate, and a few more for your body to adjust. Hence the Kage Bunshin distraction."_

"_There are five elements… I can use Doton and Fuuton, but I have to switch twice, because my body can only use two elements, right?"_

_The older Naruto looked at the younger Naruto. "Right now, this switch is easily modifiable. Your body is young, indeed unable to hold more than two elements. But you're going to mature and your, or our limit is three elements. I'll tell you now, the third and final element your body can use is Suiton. You are completely unable to mold Chakra into a Katon or Raiton element, ever. But thanks to this switch, your entire Chakra system can alter. For now, this Fuuinjutsu allows for two switches. One so your body is attuned to Katon and Raiton and the other for Suiton. Your original is already Fuuton and Doton." _

_He unwrapped the scroll completely and started pointing at several symbols. "Study all of this, Naruto. I want you to be able to draw this blindly. Fuuinjutsu will save everything in the end. You have to know all of this… and more."_

**END FLASHBACK**

* * *

He didn't understand. He didn't like not understanding. As he walked beside his assigned partner, he couldn't help but go over recent events. While it is true his Shouraizou didn't tell him anything specific, the fact that he would be unconscious was something he couldn't easily comprehend. So when he saw nothing but blackness after the Shukaku and Kyuubi Jinchuuriki had stood before him that day, he was… baffled.

And now that only the Nibi Jinchuuriki and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki had given Hidan and Kakuzu such a hard time, he couldn't help but believe his Shouraizou hadn't been lying that day. Of course, it had never lied to him before, but… to think Sabaku no Gaara, a Genin Jinchuuriki, and Uzumaki Naruto, a Chuunin Jinchuuriki, would be able to accomplish this uncertainty in him… It made him very curious.

Both Naruto and Gaara were only thirteen years old. If they were able to control that much Chakra from their Bijuu at that age, he was sure they would only grow more troublesome, far more troublesome. His assumptions were usually correct, so should he share this suspicion with Pein or 'Madara?' Perhaps he could use this information for his own schemes instead. Yes, perhaps his plan should be… modified.

"So, what should we do?"

Itachi spared Kisame a glance, before returning his gaze forward. "The usual."

Which meant they would ambush some unfortunate team from Kumo, Suna, Tsuchi or Konoha and then hope for some bounty money.

* * *

Indifferently he watched the short fights in front of him unfold. It was inevitable that every fight would be short. The rule that stated that if you even broke a single thing, be it a chair or a table, you would be disqualified was the cause of this.

Of course, Ninjutsu was allowed, but if you missed, you'd definitely demolish something in the room.

So Gaara expected smart tactics, but when one guy started throwing a chair towards his opponent, expecting said opponent to block and eventually break the chair, he couldn't help but frown. Of course, the opponent would dodge and the chair would break against the wall… Poor tactics, really.

The examiner had stated that a single Genin could be thrown out of the Exam, but the team would continue, even if it was with only one member…

From Konoha team 10 Yamanaka Ino had passed by dodging a Ninjutsu and Nara Shikamaru passed by taking control of his opponent by use of his shadow and continued by letting her scratch a table with a Kunai.

Gaara noticed there were no Suna teams present, but he wasn't surprised. Suna had lost their weapon, their Jinchuuriki, so they were probably in the midst of quite the chaos.

From Konoha team 8, Inuzuka Kiba was disqualified when he miscalculated his own spinning Gatsuuga and damaged the wall, and only slightly even. Yes, you weren't allowed to damage ANYTHING in the room, after all. Hinata was the one who easily dodged the chair previously mentioned and got an easy pass.

From Konoha team 7, Sai easily passed by disabling his opponent in two seconds flat. Gaara had narrowed his eyes at his efficiency at the time. Sakura, being quite the brute, just smashed her opponent into the wall. Here, she was lucky the examiner stated it was her opponent who damaged the wall, not Sakura WITH her opponent.

From his own team, Temari had used a very simple Fuuton Ninjutsu that caused her opponent to fly to the ceiling. Temari had sent the girl straight into the only light of the classroom and, by damaging the light, her opponent lost and Temari passed. Now it was Gaara's turn.

And he had easily beaten his opponent, also in two seconds flat. He just used his Sand to protect everything in the room and then just flooded his opponent with a huge wave of Sand. After the Examiner saw how nothing was damaged by the wave, which was actually impossible as the wave pretty much covered the entire room, except for the present participants, he passed Gaara, as his opponent was unconscious.

The examiner had told them that anyone who passed was allowed to go home for the day. The next Test would be in two days. There were still a lot of participants left, but Gaara wasn't interested in observing these Genin any further. So he and Temari chose to go home.

Go home and laugh at Dosu, that is.

* * *

He wasn't surprised at all when he saw the old man with binoculars in his hands in a crouched form as he summoned him before him. Not surprised at all.

"What the hell? Where the hell am I?"

A tick formed on his forehead, but Naruto forced it away. "Jiraiya-sama." He bit out with difficulty. "Hentai-sama sounds a lot better." He mumbled under his breath.

"Naruto?" Jiraiya stood from his crouch, with the binocular miraculously gone. Jiraiya probably had a Fuuin Seal somewhere to summon binoculars, Naruto figured. Really, the priorities some people had. "Where are we? You summoned me here?"

He started off with a sigh. "Yeah, we're in Wave." He always teleported to Wave to discuss important matters. He liked the peace and quiet in these forests where he first met Haku. "I want to talk to you about something important, but before I do… I want your promise that this stays between you and my team. I want you to promise me you won't tell this to Hokage-sama either." He summoned a scroll by pouring Chakra into one of his vest pockets. He was wearing his Chuunin Outfit, which he actually liked to call Chuunin Fuuin Outfit. Just not out loud.

Crouching, he unfolded the scroll on the ground and looked at Jiraiya with a very stern gaze. "You promise me by blood."

Jiraiya looked at the scroll and then at Naruto. He noticed right away Naruto was very serious, so he would be, too. "What does this scroll do?"

Naruto's gaze turned sad for an instant, Jiraiya saw. "I call this the Promise Scroll. Anyone who makes a promise to me, will do so by blood. By combining Fuuinjutsu with blood, the most intricate things are possible. You notice that the scroll is empty, right?" Jiraiya nodded. "Everyone on my team has made a promise to never betray Konoha and never betray the team. A blood promise. And they did so in this scroll. The way this works is very similar to the Bouseikon, Oitsumeru no Jutsu. The title of this scroll is Kessho Jikumono. The Blood Scroll." He paused to catch his breath. "With your blood combined with your Chakra, I've made this Fuuinjutsu able to keep track of your active blood."

Jiraiya swallowed and frowned, still not completely understanding it.

"In other words, by use of different Fuuin skills, I am able to track you down when you… are lying, are nervous, are excited, are anxious, are scared… when you are dying and…. when you are breaking THIS particular promise. You see here that I can only use this Fuuinjutsu AFTER I've told you what I want to tell you. Because blood changes by the seconds."

"This sounds impossible." Jiraiya seriously let out. "You can't monitor someone's blood pressure all the time by use of Fuuinjutsu."

The blonde grinned. "Exactly, not all the time. Everyone's blood is unique. This Blood Scroll has dozens of Fuuin seals inscribed in it. Every single one allowing for different results. One dominant Fuuin Seal ascertains a constant, but very thin connection between the blood in the scroll and the blood in your body. A smaller, but by no means small, Fuuin Seal only responds to the breaking of the promise. Another Fuuin Seal will respond when you are, for example, lying. But each separate Fuuin Seal requires at least a drop of blood. The one I request of you, requires sixteen, as it is quite… difficult to detect the change in blood flow when someone is breaking a promise."

"How do you know such advanced Fuuinjutsu, Naruto?" Jiraiya heavily narrowed his eyes at his former student's son. No one he knew was so knowledgeable about Fuuinjutsu… Not even the Fourth.

"I will tell you if you promise me you will give me sixteen drops of your blood and pour a… considerable… amount of your Chakra into this Scroll." Was the immediate answer.

Jiraiya mulled it over. Old man Sarutobi was curious about how strong Naruto really was after the Chuunin Exams in Konoha, but it wasn't on the top of his priority list. The Toad Sage knew the Third had given both Kakashi and Anko the mission the find this out as soon as possible, anyway. It wasn't his problem. He could deal with keeping the kid's secrets what they were… secrets.

Besides, he owed it to him. He was his godfather, after all. He grinned as he saw how mature Naruto looked, with his hands on the scroll on the ground, looking up to him with an expectant, out-of-this-world serious gaze. "Alright, Naruto. I promise that what you tell me will stay between us."

The Chuunin of the two considered Jiraiya for a second or two. "A promise means a lot to me, Jiraiya-sama. I want you to promise me, literally, that you'll give me sixteen drops of blood and your Chakra before I start talking."

"God, you're impossible." Jiraiya snorted a laugh. "You're just like your father." He was glad to see a ghost of a smile on Naruto's face, but it wandered because Naruto was in business mode. "I promise you will have sixteen drops of my blood and some of my Chakra as soon as you want it."

The boy nodded his head, satisfied. "I suppose a considerable amount of Chakra is still just 'some' to a Chakra Freak like you." But it was true. A guy like, for example Shikamaru, would be somewhat exhausted with the amount of Chakra needed for this. Jiraiya and he were a different story.

"Alright then. You're going to have to brace yourself, Jiraiya-sama. For this tale will be somewhat… hard to believe."

"Give it to me straight, Naruto. I'm old and I have seen a lot. This can't be anything too weird."

Naruto shook his head with a grin attached, before talking again. "Maton Ninjutsu. There are only a few of them, right? Well, let's just say I've had a visit from myself… from the future." This is where Jiraiya would probably laugh at him.

"… Time-travel? How…?"

Ignoring the misjudgment Naruto had on Jiraiya, he continued. "It's a modified Hiraishin by use of Blood and Fuuinjutsu and... blood experiments. Time-travel was made possible by Medic-nin. By creating a younger version of his own blood and his own blood circulation, my future self was able to get a detailed version of… me in the past. And then, he had to create a combination of a Kesshou Fuuin Seal and the Hiraishin seal. The result was risky Time-Travel, but Time-travel nonetheless."

Jiraiya put his fist to his chin. "By that explanation, shouldn't you also be able to create an older version of your own blood? You could travel to the future?"

He was very surprised Jiraiya was believing all of this. "It doesn't matter. To be able to modify blood on that level… My future self told me that it was near impossible even in the future." He locked eyes with Jiraiya. "The only way to speed that up is for the average Medic-nin to… evolve."

"You say Medic-nin, but don't you mean scientist?" The Hermit asked in a bit of distaste, as Orochimaru suddenly popped up in his head.

"Well, perhaps a true Medic-nin is also somewhat of a scientist?" The blonde offered uncertainly. "Anyway… You're not even slightly surprised when I say my future self visited me?"

"I am." Jiraiya replied slowly. "But I believe you. I'm guessing your future self is quite the Fuuinjutsu Specialist?"

"The best." Naruto's gaze was full of respect. "Even though he was me… I considered him as a sort of…. Father. He was me, but not really, you know?"

"So he taught you everything he knows?" Jiraiya asked in genuine curiosity. "So you know a lot of Fuuinjutsu skills?"

"Yeah, he taught me a lot." For some reason, Jiraiya made him remind him of his future self. It brought sadness as he remembered how his future self had died in front of his eyes…

Jiraiya didn't catch the sad expressions, which Naruto was thankful for. "So, show me then! You're strong, aren't you? Now that I know, you don't have to hold back anymore."

"… You're right!" Naruto's sadness washed away as excitement hit him hard. "You're Jiraiya-sama, one of the Legendary Ninjas! I can go all out against you!"

With that statement and the action Naruto took as he rose from the ground, Jiraiya had to take a step back. "Suh-Senjutsu?" He was completely shocked as he saw the signs of Senjutsu in Naruto's eyes. "Y-you know…?"

Naruto nodded his head confidently. "Yeah… I've perfected the style completely. It only takes me one second to activate. One second of complete tranquility allows for the wielding of the Toad Style."

"W-wait…" Jiraiya held up his hand. Now he knew Naruto was dangerous. Senjutsu was very dangerous. He was nigh impossible to beat in this state. "W-why…" He wanted to say it was impossible, but with proof like this… So instead, he responded with "How can you still look so normal!" Was what he screamed as he pointed at the still normal features of Naruto.

"Normal?"

"Give me a few minutes of silence, please." Jiraiya grumbled as he saw on the ground, cross-legged. "It takes me a bit longer to enter Senjutsu Mode…"

Naruto watched in amusement as the great Toad Hermit seemed put off. As the minutes passed by, he was flabbergasted by Jiraiya's changing appearance.

And then he laughed his ass off.

* * *

"He ain't near, he ain't here! Where the hell did he go, that nine? Wonder where he went and if he's fine!" Bee rapped as he danced through the streets of Kumogakure. "He should bumping fists with Bee, but instead he's out, completely… free?"

With that last word spoken, Kirabi realized Konoha simply let its Jinchuuriki travel to other Villages like this. He stopped dancing. This JUST occurred to him. He wasn't one to sulk, but he couldn't help it. Both Gaara and Naruto were Jinchuuriki from Konoha. They were allowed to travel freely while he was ALWAYS stuck in Kumo.

A thought occurred to him. Perhaps Naruto would teach him the Hiraishin?

Hiraishin meant freedom.

But then, even he knew Shinobi don't give up their own Jutsu just like that. Especially one such as Hiraishin… And he knew he had to know Fuuinjutsu to be able to do it. And not just any Fuuinjutsu, no, Fuuinjutsu of the advanced kind.

And now he was seated in the middle of a pretty crowded street, with his arms folded over one another. "Damn, yo! This shit's hard to figure out, I'll have to bow to him, no doubt! And the kid's not easy to read, not even with this killer beat!"

He blinked behind his glasses. "Kirabi… Killer beat? Killer Bee has a Killer Beat! Oh yeah!" With the realization of the two almost identical words, Kirabi would keep himself busy for at least a good four hours. The thoughts of the Hiraishin would come back after that.

* * *

Jiraiya was panting his stomach out as he was holding himself up against a big boulder. Naruto was quite the same in front of him, holding himself up over his knees. "What the hell… You're the strongest… Chuunin… I've ever faced, kid."

"You should hear… what I did to Orochimaru during those Chuunin Exams… I've been dying to tell someone!" He released in between pants. His Toad Mode was long gone, as was Jiraiya's. After the Senjutsu Battle, it had turned into a full out Ninjutsu and Taijutsu battle. While Naruto wasn't spent, he didn't want to show Jiraiya his Jinchuuriki Mode just yet.

Before they started the fight, Naruto had teleported the both of them to a mountain area close in Earth Country, but far from Iwagakure. He didn't want to ruin his favorite forest in Wave, after all.

The fight was over and both were very content with there being no clear victor. "Jiraiya-sama…" Naruto let the older man know he was done 'sparring' by sitting down on the rocky ground. He even had to pluck a few rocks from under his ass to sit comfortably. "Telling you about that time-travel Jutsu and showing you my real strength weren't the only reasons I summoned you."

Releasing a final combination of a sigh and a groan, which would hopefully stop his panting, Jiraiya sat in front of Naruto. "They weren't?"

"One of the other reasons I summoned you is because I need to travel to the Land of Iron. I want to do this without my team, so these Chuunin Exams in Kumo are perfect. And the two who aren't participating, Tayuya and Kankurou, are currently taking easy missions from the Raikage, to be executed within Kumo. I need to pick something up in the Land of Iron and to do so I have to gain the acknowledgment of a guy named… Mifune."

"Oh, old man Mifune, I know him well." Jiraiya nodded. If he remembered correctly, Mifune was about ten years younger than Sarutobi Hiruzen, which meant about 62-64. Jiraiya himself was 51. "You're going to have a hard time with that guy, he's a real piece of work, like a rock."

Naruto's determination was just as solid as one. "The other and final reason I summoned you is because of a request."

"Another one?" Jiraiya joked, but it wasn't registered.

"Akatsuki… I want to crush them."

The ruthlessness in Naruto's voice wasn't missed. "I have to admit… If you hadn't just given me a very hard time, I would say you'd get squashed by even a single member, but… I guess what you want isn't… too impossible."

"I am training myself every day as hard as I can. I leave a Clone in Kumo and go training at random places. Sometimes I take my team with me, sometimes I drop them off at separate places. I've taught all of them the Kage Bunshin, so they all have a Shadow Clone with their Chakra Signature in Kumo. We're all training as hard as we can and they know what I want. They now, as much as me, want to completely crush Akatsuki." He tilted his head sideways. "Well, maybe Tayuya still isn't that into it yet…" He dryly added.

"… so what is your request, then?"

"My squad… I intend for my team to become the best of the best. Able to take out the Akatsuki. I want you to be our leader."

* * *

She hasn't been that worried for ages. The constant stress and worry that ran through her for the past few days had been killing her. Today was the first day in a week where she could rest in complete peace again.

Shizune was stable again.

Naruto's pills… Shizune had taken one of them and had undergone one extreme change… It seemed as if she had turned into the Raikage himself, with Chakra Levels like that. Apparently, the pills were designed to take your Chakras to the next Level, for a short period of time. It took your Chakra supplies and it seemed as if it made your Chakra supply generate as much Chakra as one would for an entire three days! Maybe even more…

It didn't change anything in attitude, just in Chakra… Shizune was still Shizune, so Tsunade wanted to spar with her to see if she was stronger or faster now.

And she was, by quite a lot.

Tsunade had never been pushed back like that by Shizune. She could still handle her somewhat, but the equality in the spar scared her. After the Chakra surge died down, Shizune fell dead to the ground. She looked like a corpse and Tsunade turned frantic. She wasn't dead, of course, but she definitely looked the part.

The pill really did take a Chakra supply worth of three to four days… and without any Chakra left… Shizune was on the brink of death.

There was only one way to deal with this in a short amount of time. Chakra infusion in combination with her own Sozo Saisei… Her condition was still very critical until a few days ago, it was only yesterday where Tsunade started worrying less. Thank god it was extreme Chakra Exhaustion and not something… blood related.

But the results of the pills were marvelous, the after-effects devastating. She'd have to find a way to create something that could deal with such Chakra drainage…

Tsunade had to admit it… She was interested in creating a new medicine.

But when she would see that Naruto kid again she would first beat him into shit for putting Shizune in that state. Then she would fix him up and repeat it for a few dozen times. But right now was the time to take a closer look into how these pills were created. She doubted a kid like Naruto would know, though…

And didn't he tell her it was designed for Jinchuuriki?

There was something off about Naruto, she was sure.

* * *

"We need more intel on the Kyuubi brat."

"What? Are you scared of him, yeah?"

"Deidara, you shouldn't ever underestimate a Jinchuuriki. Even three year old Jinchuuriki bite hard." Sasori trudged forward next to him, this time without being in his Hiruko puppet. "Kakuzu is right, it doesn't hurt to know more about a Jinchuuriki's skills. Every Jinchuuriki, after all, is still a bit of a human."

"This wouldn't be such a pain if we could just kill them, you know?" Hidan complained. "We're going to kill them in the end anyway, right? Why not just drag their corpses back and be done with it?"

"Are you an idiot?" Deidara laughed. "I know I don't really pay attention during those long winded speeches Nagato gives us, but even I know the Jinchuuriki have to be alive to be able to extract the demon out of them. Or did Nagato never mention that and is it because I'm a genius that I know?"

"Yeah, you're a genius, a GIRL genius, you freaking woman! Cut your hair already!" Hidan responded with a pointing finger to the front.

"What's that, you old geezer? Only old dudes have grey hair! Do all Jashin followers age fast or what?" Deidara quipped back angrily.

"Hey! The moment you insult Jashin is the moment you choose death!" Hidan grabbed his Scythe in rage.

"Shut up, Hidan." Kakuzu responded, while Sasori was just continuing his trek with his eternal poker face. "Zetsu wants to talk."

"**Hooo? You knew I was here?"** The dark Zetsu spoke. **"Impressive… Even more impressive is the fact you know I wanted to say something."**

"When I said we need more intel on the Kyuubi brat I was talking to you, obviously." Kakuzu turned to Zetsu slowly coming out of a tree. Each of them had already stopped walking, but Sasori only stopped when Zetsu came out. "Truthfully, me stating you want to talk is me demanding an answer from you."

"I didn't know you were a Sensor-nin, Kakuzu?" Hidan commented as he put his scythe back on his back, but not before shooting Deidara a glare of death. Deidara simply rolled his eyes and put his clay back in his handmouth.

"I steal pumping hearts from Shinobi." The masked Akatsuki member said. "It's only natural one of them was coincidentally a Sensor-nin…" He was talking to Hidan as if he was talking to a young brat needing very simple and obvious information. He actually always spoke like that to Hidan.

"The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is a true nuisance…" Zetsu's white halve spoke. "Besides being able to sense me, I've found out he possesses quite the bothersome Jutsu."

"You mean that Chakra absorption skill?" Kakuzu asked and here Sasori was becoming more interested. Hidan and Deidara didn't really care.

"No, this Jutsu is far more dangerous. And this single technique put an end to the previous great Shinobi War…"

"You don't mean…"

Dark Zetsu confirmed Sasori's suspicions. **"Yeah… The Hiraishin."**

Kakuzu started moving again. 'He knew the Hiraishin… that's how he got out of my Thread Dome… But why didn't he use it more? Does it take too much of his Chakra… or his Stamina?' He then narrowed his eyes. 'Or was he holding back?' He knew he had the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki's full attention, so him being caught off guard by Hidan at that time wasn't so surprising.

Wait a minute…

"Hidan, you hit that Kyuubi kid with your scythe. Do you still have his blood?"

"Are you stupid?" Hidan responded almost instantly, and Kakuzu already wanted to kill him for that reaction. "That other kid with the sand… His sand somehow cleaned my scythe clean… Annoying sand bastard. I'll kill him too, next time!"

"Sand?" Sasori repeated. "Sabaku no Gaara, then. He's the current Shukaku Jinchuuriki. Killing him is out of the question too."

Hidan glared at Sasori's back. "I'm beginning to hate this Akatsuki business."

* * *

This was the first time all of them saw Dosu sulk.

Tayuya straight out laughed at the situation, while Gaara and Temari had expressed their deepest regrets… with a grin.

"Well, at least you got an easy pass, right?" Kankurou laughed some more.

Dosu turned his one-eyed glare on Kankurou. "What was it that you said? You want to have nightmares tonight?" With his use of sounds, he could easily leave a long-lasting sound Jutsu in Kankurou's bedroom. "I'll let you dream about the worst things you can imagine." Sounds, after all, deeply affect your dreams when you are asleep.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The threat just made Kankurou laugh harder. He never imagined Dosu acting so petty. It was hilarious!

"We all passed, that's what matters." Gaara had stopped smiling. Laughing didn't come so easily to him as it did to the others, after all. He was still getting used to the concept. "What's even better is the fact no one knows how you really fight."

"So they know how you fight now?" Dosu retorted with a hidden frown, due to his bandages.

"No, I used minimum effort." Gaara answered, as always, truthfully.

"I only used one simple Wind Jutsu." Temari added.

"So no one really know how you two fight either." Dosu pointed out dryly, making Gaara's former point ineffective to change his mood. "… The first test changed completely nothing for us." While he wanted to play a part in the first test, it was over and done with. He let his disappointment disappear. "Then I look forward to the next test. I will change my disappointment into extra vigor."

* * *

As Jiraiya and Naruto were jumping through a snowstorm to reach the Land of Iron, Naruto suddenly spoke up. "Uh, we have a small problem, Jiraiya-sama."

The Toad Sage looked sideways, while shielding his face from the show with his hand.

"I have been alerted by my Fuuin Bunshin that my Kage Bunshin is on his way for my participation as special examiner for the second test of the Chuunin Exams." He scratched the back of his head in nervous fashion. "I kinda forgot about that."

"So what are you saying?"

"Well, before the commencement of the second test, I am supposed to meet up with the Raikage and he usually hits me once to make sure I'm not a Shadow Clone."

Realization dawned upon Jiraiya. "Wait, you're telling me there's a chance you have to go back to Kumo? We're almost in the Land of Iron already!"

"Hehe… " The scratching on the back his head continued. "I'll be back as soon as possible. I'll just use Hiraishin to get to you. And about there being a chance I have to go back to Kumo. There's not a chance, it's really, really certain." He nodded his head in apology to Jiraiya. "My Shadow Clone just popped due to Raikage's shoulder bash."

Jiraiya had never grumbled as hard as right then, after Naruto vanished with a yellow flash. "The kid doesn't even know how boring the Land of Iron is… and then he lands me there for his own weird reasons!" Into the annoying, cold, and wet snow, he bellowed. "You owe me for this, Naruto!"

* * *

TBC

I found some spare time to write, thanks to there being exams for me this week! Really, there's no time like exam weeks…

Someone's going to make a reappearance pretty soon and I wonder if anyone can guess who it is!

I apologize for the chapter being considerably shorter than a few previous chapters, as some were close and some well over 10k words. This one's a measly 7k…

The need for the timeskip elaboration didn't hit me quite yet for this chapter and neither did the need for more flashbacks of the Future Naruto-Present Naruto interactions. But I have them all in my head so they'll come eventually.

I am also wondering what I should do with the remaining Jinchuuriki, they're all still alive and well, after all. Akatsuki's is going with/for the 'in order of tails' approach.

I hope those Scene Breaks FFN provides actually work! If not, please let me know!

Thank you for reading! I might be able to write some more this coming week and the next one, all depending on social happenings…


	17. The Sadness of Determination

Naruto Fanfiction

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto

**Author's Note:**Not pre-read. Apologies if I took too long updating.

**Extra Notes:**  
Chances are very high this fic will have a war, despite what Naruto thinks.  
I've chosen for the Akatsuki to be a more loyal and somewhat 'closer' organization. So everyone knows Nagato, everyone knows each other a bit better than in Canon. I think I'm going to let every single member become as loyal as Kisame is in Canon.  
I apologize if I mixed up names of Countries and Villages. It's what I do in real life, too.  
I know my spelling and grammar might be incorrect at (a lot of) times, so if you see mistakes, please let me know! I'm from the Netherlands and studying to become an English teacher and every and any advice is welcome!

**Author's Questions:**  
Is the Raikage's name 'A' or 'Ei?'

* * *

Chuunin Exams always mean trouble when it's not being held in one's own country. Sarutobi Hiruzen had many missions and while he had many Shinobi at his disposal, a few of these missions could have been better handled by Shinobi currently in Kumogakure. What a hassle.

"Hmm, I didn't think she'd be back so soon." The Third murmured to himself as he finished reading one of Kakashi's mission reports. Yes, the copy-nin was in Kumo, this just proved he was far behind schedule on reading reports.

The door to his office opened to reveal Tsunade and her assistant Shizune. "Old man!"

"Such rage directed at your poor, old teacher." The aging professor grabbed one of his many smoking pipes from one of his drawers.

"There's nothing poor about you." Tsunade retorted with a frown and a hand to her hip.

'But there is old?' Hiruzen didn't voice out loud. "Have you come to help me with finishing these reports, Tsunade?"

Her peripheral vision told her not to directly look at the piles, yes plural form, of forms all around in the room. "Where's Uzumaki Naruto? He and I have unfinished business."

"You look like you are about ready to finish the life of one of our promising young Chuunin." He took a drag from his pipe. "Am I wrong?"

"Yeah, you're wrong, but not by much. That little snot almost killed Shizune." Tsunade yelled, pointing to the quite healthy looking Shizune next to her.

"Naruto almost killed a Medic-specialized Jounin? What happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened…"

* * *

**Aerial Perspective**  
Chapter 16: The Sadness Of Determination

* * *

Before he started up his own summoning, his own Hiraishin, he did wonder why there were so many people in the office.

When he walked through the opening of the wall leading to the Raikage's office, as A had shoulder bashed the door through his Shadow Clone, he wasn't even slightly surprised to see many Jounin Instructors present, including the ones from Konoha.

"What's going on?"

"Brat, you're late!"

Kirabi chuckled as Naruto received the Raikage's signature move 'Iron Claw.'

The Konoha Jounin were all quite shocked to see the Raikage and Naruto so familiar with one another. "… That's surprising." Kakashi murmured.

"Rumor is the two raced each other to Suna and back." Darui whispered to the copy-cat as they were standing next to each other. "But they won't tell us who won."

"Surely, he couldn't-" Kakashi cut himself off as he stared at the chuckling blonde who was trying to push the Raikage off of him. 'He is the most surprising Ninja, but Raikage-sama is the fastest Shinobi of the lands.'

"Impersonation." Raikage stopped giving Naruto a hard time and turned his attention back to the group. "The next test of the Chuunin Exam is a race. Each individual Genin group will have a chaser. You are the chasers."

"What do you mean by impersonation?"

Naruto knew his team had passed the first test. He could easily tell who else passed as he watched the soon-to-be chasers in the room. There were some Jounin present who didn't have a Genin team, like Darui, Kirabi and Mabui.

But the ones who did were Hatake Kakashi, Yuuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma, Maito Gai, Kumo Jounin Shi and six other Kumo Jounin of whom he didn't know the name, a Grass Jounin and four Iwa Jounin. One of the Iwa Jounin, a young woman, kept on shooting him frowns. She was only slightly older than him too, he guessed. Three Kiri Jounin finished the presence in the room.

Raikage chuckled. "Legendary Shinobi. You are going to impersonate them and chase after a random Genin team. The second test of the Chuunin Exams will be held in a very big forest. Only one team will enter at a time and they have five hours to reach the other side. One of you will enter the same forest only five minutes later and will do anything in your power to halt their movements. You are not to kill, only to restrict and slow down."

"You say not to kill, but we are allowed to fight them then?"

The female Jounin from Iwa wore a sadistic grin on her face. A recognized the young lady and sighed. "Yes, you're allowed to beat them. I expect a three-man Genin team to be wise enough to flee from a Jounin."

"Ah, but then, not all of them are three-man teams anymore, are they?" Kakashi pointed out.

"All the more reason to flee." Gai supported this test. This was a test on speed and intellect. Know when to run and know to run fast. "Do you have suggestions on impersonations?"

"Do you?" A countered.

"I'll be Orochimaru." Naruto grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Any reason why I can only be one, though?"

"By all means, if you think you can be more." The Raikage seemed very amused. "How about… Hanzou, Jiraiya, Ginkaku, Kinkaku or any of the former Kage… Take your pick."

"I'll be Hanzou." The Grass Jounin smirked. "I have somewhat the same fighting style." Anyone could see the big scythe on his back.

"I'll impersonate my father." Kakashi quickly let out, not really wanting to see someone else do so.

"If you don't mind, I'll be the former Raikage." Darui stepped in for Shi. "Shi unfortunately has a Mission, I'll be taking his spot."

"I will go as my own father, then." Sarutobi Asuma stepped forward. "The God of Shinobi, or the Professor."

"The Nidaime Mizukage… Seems like a shoe in for me." One of the Kiri Jounin chuckled weirdly.

The other Kiri Jounin followed with "I'll be Yagura."

Yuuhi Kurenai had her hand to her chin. "I think I will be impersonating Tsunade." She just had to figure out how to send out Genjutsu about her massive strength.

"We'll be Kinkaku and Kinkaku." Two Kumo Jounin volunteered. "Though it'll be hard to impersonate those maniacs."

"To be honest." A held up his hand to the two Jounin. "The only one who can pull off a believable imitation of those two is probably this blonde brat." The muscled man stated as he pointed at Naruto.

Naruto frowned. "Who are Kinkaku and Ginkaku?"

* * *

The following day…

'These brats are pretty fast…' Darui, in his Sandaime Raikage Henge, followed after a trio of Konoha Genin. The Genin working under Uzumaki Naruto, the only Chuunin who was acting as a Chaser in this test. 'A promising Chuunin, then. I wonder if his subordinates are promising Genin.'

He sighed, noticing that the group had noticed him and had sped up. 'I was hoping for an easy break…' He had his eyes narrowed though, because the speed they were moving in was high Chuunin. 'Guess I'll have to go a bit faster then.'

After a few minutes of running and jumping, he could finally spot them in the distance. A blonde girl with her hair worn loose, though some of it was worn in a ponytail in the back, with a big fan strapped on her back was leading the way. Behind her, a red-haired Genin followed swiftly, his body language completely neutral. And next to him was a Genin with bandages covering his entire head and a grey outfit that covered most of his body, who jumped in the same speed.

Darui's lazy eyes roamed over the small group, taking in everything he could before he had to face them. Though they were informed about all of the Genin teams, Darui had been too lazy to really listen to anything that was said. He didn't even know any of their names, even though this particular group even accompanied them back to Kumo from Konoha. He only remembered big names, no Genin or Chuunin was really worth all the hassle of remembering.

The girl was the fastest of the three, but physically probably the weakest. Her fan indicated Fuuton Ninjutsu and perhaps a summon, if the seals on the Fan meant anything.

The red-haired moved too perfectly. His movements indicated he was far above Genin, but Shinobi like this tended to overlook the smallest details in fighting. He could probably exploit a lot during his role as obstacle.

The bandaged one seemed pretty troublesome, he was hiding too much. He couldn't even see his hands.

If he remembered correctly, wasn't one of these three a Jinchuuriki, too?

Oh well, not like it mattered. He fought both Yugito and Bee and could handle himself pretty well against them. What could a Genin Jinchuuriki really do?

Upping his speed significantly, he gained on them and wanted to kick the bandaged one in the back, but quickly halted his movements as he heard an explosion very close to his right. In fact, he probably would be dragged into it. As he stopped on a branch far to the left, he noted that the Genin Team kept on moving away from him. 'They don't care about that explo-' He cut himself off as he didn't notice anything to his right.

"… Well, that's surprising." Darui muttered to himself. "They can fake sounds." He looked up and decided to follow them from above. 'I didn't expect to be using any Ninjutsu myself, though…' A light shroud of electricity surrounded his body.

As he jumped up to soar above the forest, he was surprised to hear a technique heading for him. He pivoted in mid-air to dodge shurikens made out of… "Sand?"

"Raiton Ninjutsu, huh?" Darui landed on the top of a tree, looking up to see the red-haired Genin float on a platform made of sand. "You won't be stopping my team's movements, Raiton user."

'It seems he doesn't recognize my Transformation… That's too bad.' The Jounin, disguised as the Sandaime Raikage, took his Genin opponent seriously, though. 'He's able to use Sand like this… He's good. But fighting him is not really my intention here…' He performed a few handseals. "Raiton, Jibashi!"

A bigger swarm of lightning bolts appeared around Darui, before he spread out his arms, which made the electricity dance around him and Gaara.

The Shukaku Jinchuuriki simply muttered "Suna Kyuutai" sensing the intensity of Darui's Jutsu. Darui made a sort of hugging motion, making the Electricity embrace Gaara, who was now safe in his hardened sphere of sand.

Gaara quickly formed the Daisan no Me, the Third Eye, to see what Darui was up to, only to snarl… Darui's plan was to get past Gaara in the first place. His plan succeeded. Gaara was no slow Shinobi, but he was definitely not the fastest. Darui was long gone, heading for the rest of his team.

But he wasn't worried. Dosu and Temari could take care of themselves.

Moments later, he sighed as a massive gust of Wind Chakra was suddenly raging through the forest, stripping trees from the ground as it came his way. 'Temari never holds back, does she?'

* * *

"Holy shit…"

Shino agreed to Kiba's statement as entire trees were flying in the air a few miles ahead. Today's Genin teams to take the second test were Naruto's, Kurenai's and a Kumo Genin Team. "It appears the chaser is permitted to utilize Ninjutsu to halt our movements…" The bug user surmised.

Hinata's Byakugan could not see that far away, so she didn't know what was going on.

Kurenai, behind her team, frowned at the display of such a powerful Ninjutsu. Was the chaser getting too carried away? That Darui character didn't seem the type.

* * *

'What a high-leveled Fuuton Ninjutsu…' Darui muttered in his head as he dug himself out of the ground. The only way to get away from Temari's attack was underground, as Fuuton Ninjutsu was somewhat his weakness. 'They're quick on the uptake, so they know each other's Chakra Presences.'

"We meet again."

Darui cursed his luck as he quickly jumped around to see the Genin from before again. He hadn't dropped his Henge, but there was no Electricity dancing around his body anymore. He instantly rectified this.

Gaara smirked at the massive man in front of him. "Lightning's weakness is Fuuton, huh?" Darui turned a bit grim as Sand Clones dug themselves out of the ground all around him. "My Fuuton Ninjutsu isn't as well-controlled as my sister's, though…"

Darui suddenly slumped to the ground as water. Gaara muttered to himself as Darui had chosen to run away again. "He won't let me delay his advance, he won't fight me. His only goal is to slow us down, then."

The Raikage in disguise was gaining on the remaining two Konoha Genin again, leaving the somewhat slower Gaara behind. 'Man, this team's pretty good… They get five hours to get out of the forest, but they're almost halfway. It hasn't even been a full hour yet. I really have to move better than this…'

"Ryuusa Bakuryu!"

A huge wall of sand was heading for him, ready to swallow him whole. Behind him, Gaara stood with his arms folded. "If I have sand, I can do anything, even from a distance. You're not getting closer to my team."

Darui was impressed. This kid used a Jutsu and activated it almost five hundred meters ahead of him. That takes a considerable amount of Chakra Control. 'This kid is no Genin… However!' Performing a few handseals. "Ranton no Yoroi!"

Gaara's eyes widened as the huge man in front of him surrounded himself with Black Lightning. And then he easily threw himself through his Desert Avalanche. 'Of course… Raiton can penetrate Doton, especially Lightning like that…' Gaara unfolded his arms. He was getting frustrated now.

* * *

"He's getting closer. His speed has increased exponentially and there's a weird buzzing sound around his body." Dosu's advanced hearing came in handy sometimes. "My guess is lightning-natured Chakra. He's a good opponent for you, Temari."

Temari sighed as she stopped on a tree branch. "A lightning specialist, huh? Let's see him face a Fuuton specialist, then… Fuuton: Megamikaze!"

Dosu grinned behind his bandages as Temari was surrounded by lethal Wind-natured Chakra, completely under her control. By use of her fan, she could increase either her defense of offense. "We don't want Gaara to go all out here… It seems his Lightning Affinity is giving Gaara a hard time."

"I'll wait for Gaara and then we'll go ahead. We'll wait for you." Dosu nodded his head, indicating their Chaser was getting really close now, with Gaara following close behind. "I'll assume you'll be using that?"

Temari nodded as Darui, still in disguise, landed in front of her, on the ground. Darui wasn't surprised to see Gaara materialize behind Temari, joining the final Genin in the back.

"… I see." Was the only thing Gaara said as he saw Temari's current state. He nodded to Dosu and then the two went ahead.

"Heh, you just switch easily like that?" The lazy voice indicated no worry, but Darui didn't like how Temari looked. Her long blonde hair was whipping wildly behind her, the single ponytail undone. The Wind Chakra around her was extremely potent, just like the Raiton Chakra around himself.

"I hate to inform you of this, but my Raiton is a bit special." Darui explained lazily. "You can't assume Fuuton will easily beat this one…"

Temari ignored him and grabbed her fan tightly. She poured Chakra into one the Fuuin seals on the fan and unleashed "Fuuton, Fuujikomu!"

'Alright, not what I expected…' The Kumo Jounin looked around and accepted the fact that he was quite trapped. Temari had them both surrounded by a Tornado made out of vicious Wind Chakra. This would normally be no real problem for someone like Darui, despite being weak against Fuuton. No, what made this bothersome was the fact that the tornado was ALSO somehow infused with Fire Chakra…

The sounds of the razor sharp Wind and the scorching hot Fire around him made him feel a bit uncomfortable. "Fuuinjutsu?"

Temari was still in front of him, grinning. "I thought there was something off about that lightning around you." She smugly released, gripping her fan again. With a single, easy movement from her fan, fire and wind from the tornado around them whipped violently toward Darui.

'So she can control this tornado from the inside… Time to test it, then…' Darui focused on his Ranton no Yoroi, enforcing it to see what this combination would do against him.

"KKKGGGHHH!" He gritted his teeth as all his defense did was negate Temari's attack. As it went away, both Temari and Darui had deduced the same. His Black Lightning was just as strong as Temari's mix of Wind and Fire.

"That's unexpected." Temari muttered.

"Those are my words." Darui whined a bit. "Guess I won't be walking out of this one." His eyes roamed all around the raging tornado around him.

"And that… is the difference between you and I." His blonde opponent whipped her fan horizontally, this time attacking herself.

His mouth opened in shock as the Fire and Wind enveloped her completely and… took her out of the tornado. Already he could feel Temari getting farther and farther away from him outside. "You… you're kidding me…" The Jounin sighed and performed handseals. "I can't believe I have to use this against Genin…"

"Ranton, Funka!"

Unleashing a massive amount of Storm Elemental Chakra that would explode on contact, Darui was able to momentarily create a hole in Temari's powerful Entrapment technique. As he got out, he halted his movements to look behind him and see that the tornado seemed to be dying down…

"Wait a minute… That tornado thing would only have been active for a few more moments?" He sighed to himself. "Damn, wasted so much Chakra…" But then, who knew how long he would've been trapped in there?

* * *

"What do we do?" Dosu asked as soon as Temari joined the two of them again. "He's a lot stronger than I anticipated. Able to even escape your Tornado Entrapment Jutsu."

"He's already out?" Temari asked, surprised. "I guess I underestimated him."

"Yes, he used a very powerful black lightning technique." Her brother informed her. His Third Eye had been observing the fight, after all. "We can't beat him. It would reveal to much of our power." He continued. "All we can do is stall. Do you want to try next, Dosu?"

"To be honest… No. He seems specialized in ranged attacks." The bandaged nin supplied as an answer. "I could stall as it seems he's limited to non-lethal combat. But the battle wouldn't be in my favor, I would be revealing too many of my Jutsu"

"Teaming up might accidentally beat him…" Temari added. "Me and Gaara could stall him more, but I would have to go all out eventually and Gaara… Well, Gaara might accidentally beat him on his own."

Gaara shrugged a bit unsurely. "He's strong… I might even have to go Jinchuuriki Mode against him. I don't want to use that."

"Then we run…" Dosu's single eye moved to Gaara. "Use Suna Bunshin and use traps, anything to slow him down. We'll run as fast as we can."

"Yes. We can't afford to reveal how strong we really are." Gaara agreed.

Temari turned in mid-air and already noticed Darui in the distance. "I'll start off with… Kuchiyose: Kirikirimai!"

"**Slice'n 'n Dice'n!" **Temari's summon slickly murmured, heading towards Darui with all kinds of slicing material and Wind Chakra.

* * *

Naruto was pleased to hear that his team had passed the test, even though they had mostly beenrunning. Today was his turn and he would be chasing after a team from Kumo. Shi's Genin team, in fact.

"Don't you think you're taking things a bit too far, Naruto?"

Naruto was casually walking through the first parts of the forest, he could still sense the Kumo Genin team in the distance, when A's voice shook him from his thoughts. He looked up to see the massive man stand on a way too fragile looking tree branch. "Aren't you afraid that branch will snap, A?"

"Are you saying I'm heavy?"

The branch snapped almost instantly after the shout out, but the Raikage casually landed in front of Naruto and four of his Shadow Clones.

The real Naruto was the spitting image of Naruto's father, Namikaze Minato.

Two clones were Ginkaku and Kinkaku, with Kyuubi Chakra quite active around them.

And then the remaining two were Jiraiya and Orochimaru, hands on each other's shoulders as if they were best friends. To A, it was kind of creepy.

A had to admit Naruto really nailed it with the imitations. They all oozed powerful Chakra.

The Fourth Hokage was leaning against a tree, arms folded with a cool look considering the others. "Your father wasn't that cool, Naruto." A commented, a bit ticked off.

"Ginkaku!"

"Kinkaku!"

After a few more dozen screams of each other's names, the Raikage bellowed "They don't yell each other's names that often, Naruto!"

"Who do you think you're touching, Jiraiya… Kekekeke…"

"Whahahaha! Shut up, you snake freak! We're best friends, remember?"

"Why would I be, with a loudmouth pervert like you… Kekekekeke…"

"Whahahaha! Who here has the pervert voice now again?"

Raikage offered a deadpan look to the bickering Shadow Clones, henged into Orochimaru and Jiraiya. "Those two might actually be in character. He's got the laughs right, if I remember correctly." He coughed, getting back to business. "Don't get carried away, Naruto! Don't kill them!"

With that, the Yondaime Hokage vanished with a yellow flash, Ginkaku and Kinkaku with a red one, Orochimaru slipped underground and Jiraiya summoned a Toad, made it swallow him and disappeared.

"Interesting." A admitted as he was alone now. "That kid's really good… and his Kage Bunshin seem to have minds of their own."

"I feel sorry for those Genin…"

A scream already came to his ears seconds later.

* * *

Naruto had finally arrived back in the Land of Iron, relieving Jiraiya, who was stuck doing nothing at the moment. There were a few days left until the final test of the Chuunin Exams and the last test was always the same. A tournament. He learned that the Tsuchikage and Mizukage were coming to watch this time's Chuunin Exams. He wondered what those two were like.

Jiraiya wasn't in a real good mood, for having to wait for three whole days for Naruto's return. Why didn't HE ever learn that Hiraishin, anyway? He wouldn't have been sitting in this cold country, that's for sure. The sooner they got out there, the better.

The two sat around the big table, with Samurai to their left and right and Mifune right in front of them.

"Jiraiya-sama has informed me of why you've come before me, Naruto-san." Mifune started. "But I'd like you to-" He got cut off as Naruto suddenly vanished in a yellow flash.

Mifune's stare flew straight to Jiraiya, who chuckled nervously.

"I uh… think he just got summoned?"

Elsewhere…

Haku and Zabuza were back to back, surrounded by many Kiri ANBU Hunter-nin, when Naruto appeared right at the spot where Haku had thrown his signature Kunai.

"Well, shit…" Naruto muttered, eying the Kiri Hitai-ate. "It seems, to avoid war, I'll have to kill all of you."

* * *

Haku and Zabuza stood petrified as Naruto released a Killer Intent he had been holding back for a good few months now…

'This boy… to protect everyone and everything… he thinks he has to be able to destroy everyone and everything as well…' Haku was in a state he didn't think was possible again ever since he saw her mentor, Zabuza, kill many groups right before his eyes, similar to the way Naruto had just done.

But it was different.

Looking sideways, he saw Zabuza was just as surprised as he was. Shocked was the better term, however.

They were both panting softly, but quickly. It was not exhaustion that caused this, but fear.

"Are you guys alright?" Naruto asked as he looked at the duo over his shoulder.

"Y… yeah, kid." Zabuza was just barely able to find his own voice after the short massacre he had just witnessed. "You didn't hold back, huh?" He tried to joke.

"I did." Came the surprising reply from Naruto. "If I hadn't, I probably would have taken the two of you down by accident as well."

They had been fighting the hunter-nin on a lake close to the lands of Water Country when they summoned Naruto by use of Kunai. The lake was completely red now and the only evidence hunter-nin were there were some sliced off hands floating in the water.

Haku managed to spot one, only to see it sink down the surface. 'What a horror… To think such an innocent boy can unleash such destructive power.'

"I couldn't afford to let any of them escape." Naruto muttered, not completely happy with the situation. "Hunter-nin from Kiri. I wore my Hitai-ate, so if even one of them escaped, it would've meant trouble for Konoha."

"… No one got away." Was the only thing Zabuza figured to say. Standing on a lake of blood didn't do all that much for the Demon of the Mist, but he couldn't say he was completely comfortable.

"Naruto-kun. Are you alright?" Came Haku's voice seconds later.

"I'm fine… I won't let any harm come to my allies." Came Naruto's harsh voice. "Don't hesitate to summon me again if you are ever in trouble." He paused, overlooking them and his surroundings. "I was in the middle of a meeting, actually. So I have to go again. There might come a time where I'll need your help." He gave them a smile, as if he hadn't just killed two squadrons of Kiri-hunter-nin. "But that'll be when I'm Hokage. Be careful, you two." He bowed once, and then vanished with a yellow flash.

Zabuza released a breath he didn't know he was holding. Haku did much the same. 'That… was unexpected. We were saved, but… why does it feel so bad?' Were the young man's thoughts.

'I'd better think twice before using that Kunai again…' Zabuza thought as he went to retrieve the Kunai Haku had thrown. "That kid's as crazy as they come, Haku."

"Not crazy… It's almost like he's… overdetermined. If that even exists…" Haku muttered, finally able to move again.

* * *

"That's… impossible." His stern voice almost seemed to command his guards to draw their swords. "No one can enter the vault, no one could have that sword in his possession and yet…" Mifune gave Naruto a hard stare, before he rose from his seat and calmly walked over to the blonde. "It vanishes if you no longer touch it?" He questioned as he looked closer at the sword in Naruto's right hand. "It only responds to your touch?" Was the next question after he saw the blonde nod. "Show me."

As the Eigou Kaiki disappeared as soon as Naruto opened his right hand, Mifune nodded, having seen enough evidence. "That was no Henge…" He confirmed. "That is the real Eigou Kaiki." Mifune still glared at Naruto and motioned something to his guards, to which they responded with blades to Naruto's neck.

"To have this weapon in your possession, one would think you've broken into our vault." Naruto was unperturbed and met Mifune's glare with his own. "But for you to able wield it… you have to have the same blood as… Namikaze Minato, the one who helped create the Eigou Kaiki. Tell me who you really are, child."

"I didn't break into your vault, Mifune-sama." Naruto started. "But your assumptions are correct, I am Namikaze Minato's son."

"I never knew he had a son." The old samurai murmured. The guards' blades were still at his neck. "Maton Ninjutsu, huh? It's becoming a rather scary world with possibilities like this."

"So, you figured it out." Jiraiya suddenly spoke, unclasping his hands in front of his face. "You think it's possible?"

"I didn't think it was possible to copy the ability of a sword, but Minato-sama has shown me differently when he copied one of the swords of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist with his Eigou Kaiki." Mifune turned from Jiraiya back to Naruto. "A lot of things considered impossible are made possible… by Fuuinjutsu. Am I right if I say you are talented in Fuuinjutsu?"

Naruto wanted to tilt his head, but the blades were too close. He opted for a shrug instead. "I'm catching up to Jiraiya-sama."

"That means yes, child." Mifune motioned with his head to let Naruto free from the blades. The guards complied easily. "Come with me… Your claims from before seem farfetched no longer."

Naruto nodded as he and Jiraiya followed after Mifune and his guards. "Minato Namikaze-sama has told me of the possibility of your arrival long ago, Naruto-san. It was why, even if you HAD broken into our vault, I wouldn't have cared anyway. For you see… Our vault is actually your father's. I hold the key to it, but so do you. Or rather, so does your blood."

"… But now you've made an old man very excited." Mifune actually smiled. "Your request is to watch what happens when two of the same sword clash with one another?"

Jiraiya could feel the excitement from both Mifune and Naruto as they neared a large gate…

"Namikaze Minato once asked himself and me… the same thing."

* * *

"… the Chuunin Exams, yeah?"

As Zetsu nodded once to Deidara, Sasori turned his puppet body around. "It is pointless at the moment, then. There will be at least two Kage in Kumogakure. We will wait."

"Why do we have to wait?" The Jashin-follower in their midst yelled out. "It just means more sacrifices for Jashin-sama! What good are two Kage against us, huh? Huh?"

"Shut up, Hidan. The current Raikage isn't a man to be taken lightly." The masked Kakuzu glared at his partner. "This kid is right, we have to wait." Kakuzu called everyone a kid, he was always the oldest. So it was no surprise he referred to Sasori as 'kid.'

"Hmph…" Deidara put some clay to his right hand. "Doesn't hurt to do some recon, huh?"

"Not necessary, Deidara-senpai…" Zetsu offered. "I'm already inside."

'His clay might just explode, after all.' The plant-like man mused.

"So… who's fighting who?"

Naruto was cooking up dinner while the rest of his team were sitting in the living room. He had just arrived back from the Land of Iron late afternoon as he and old man Mifune had a lot to discuss about their findings.

In any case, he had a new ally in that old samurai. Naruto did wonder how strong Mifune was. Maybe the man could teach him some Kenjutsu?

"It isn't the same as in Konoha." Kankurou was tinkering with a metal puppet. "They're going to be fighting Jounin-leveled Shinobi. Every Genin gets the chance to impress the judges." Kankurou wasn't one of the participants, after all.

"Yeah, I know. I guess A considers me Jounin-leveled because I'm going to be one of them." Naruto chuckled. "But don't you already know who your opponents are?"

Gaara answered next. He was playing chess against Dosu and losing, judging by the frown on his face. "No."

"They'll just flash out names." Temari, sitting by the window looking at the civilians walk about, followed up. "I kinda feel sorry for the guy facing you, though."

"These Chuunin Exams sound real boring to me." Tayuya joined Naruto in the kitchen. Before, she had been lying down on the couch, occasionally looking at the chess game between Gaara and Dosu. She would wipe the floor with both of them in seconds. "Where have you been these last few days, anyway? It was fucking boring doing those lame missions with the puppeteer."

"I was busy." Naruto grinned at the red-haired girl. "But my Fuuin Bunshin are always around you. When my Fuuin Bunshin dispel, I get their experience and their memories, so all you have to do is ask them where they are."

"Are you an idiot? I can't see your Fuuin Bunshin, remember?" Tayuya put her finger in one of the pans Naruto was cooking something in. Tayuya didn't approve, Naruto noticed as her expression was quite… sour.

"Like I said… They're always around you. All you have to do is whisper."

"WHAT!"

Kankurou grinned as Temari was all of a sudden also in the kitchen, right next to Tayuya. Both girls had bellowed the 'WHAT.'

"PERVERT!"

"Heh, captain screws up sometimes too, huh?" Kankurou was surprised to see Dosu amused as well. Gaara was too focused on the chess game.

* * *

TBC

Short Chap, I know… Blame it on the other stories who are even SHORTER than 5k a chap! It makes me feel like I'm writing too much in a single chapter. Short chapter stories are the devil! FFN should do a minimum input of 4k a chap, at least! Oh well, this gives me the chance to make my chaps shorter too. In a way, shorter chaps mean faster updates, one would think.

I already know which Jounin will face which Genin in this Exam! It's gonna be sweet! Next chapter won't include the flashback for the Eigou Kaiki revelation. It will, however, feature Zabuza and Haku again… probably.

Some Qs:  
Will Tsunade kick Naruto in the ground?  
Who do you think Naruto is very similar to at the moment?  
What will the complete form of the Eigou Kaiki do?  
Will Jiraiya train his Senjutsu further?  
Who will become Chuunin?  
is Naruto too fragmented?

Anyway, thanks for reading!


	18. Awaiting The Echoes

Naruto Fanfiction

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto

**Author's Note:**Not Pre-read

**Extra Notes: **None

**Author's Questions:**None

* * *

"You are sure?"

"I am. Things have evolved in a matter I disagree with. It's best we control these changes."

"This will warn all nations."

"But then, we have one less to worry about."

Nagato released an unsure sigh as he, Konan and Tobi listened to the noises in the distance. Towering above all other trees, they could easily spot the stadium where the final examination of Kumo's Chuunin exams were being held.

"If all goes according to plan. We have quite a few troublesome underlings…"

* * *

Loud cheers and explosions of fireworks already echoed in and around the stadium before it had even started. There was even a short performance of a weird artist rapping out of tune through the speakers before it suddenly got cut off. The entire audience only heard a series of short sounds similar to lightning bolts and a scream similar to "Iron! Cla-"

A certain blonde was shaking his head as he sat on the ground near his own team. 'Kirabi is really something else…' Naruto was currently thinking about the mission that was given to Kakashi and the others. Retrieving Hizashi's body would be very difficult. The Chuunin Exams weren't a big enough diversion for a big operation like that. No, they definitely needed a bigger one.

"So, nervous anyone?" All the participating Genin were told to wait underneath the fighting area of the stadium. They would be called up without knowing who their opponent would be. None of them were even allowed to observe any of the fights. This particular blonde was a Kage Bunshin summoned by a Fuuin Bunshin. Only Genin were supposed to be down here, after all.

"How did you get in here, taichou?"

Naruto offered Temari a short shrug and an indifferent glance to the side. "Who knows?"

The other Genin didn't seem to mind the presence of the Chuunin or didn't show it. Perhaps they couldn't even see him… The tense atmosphere in the waiting cellar somehow made Naruto occasionally chuckle at them. He then frowned at the Genin who seemed to be bored. "Oi, Gaara! I'm sure you realize this, but… your opponent will probably be prepared to face someone like you. Best to be ready for that."

"Of course." The redhead responded, arms folded over one another. "I'll just crush my opponent all the same."

Naruto's team shared a chuckle at Gaara's overconfidence, before a hole in the ceiling opened and a scroll was thrown to the ground. It rolled open to reveal a name on it. "Sabaku no Temari…" Naruto murmured as he read what was on the scroll. "Good luck!"

The blonde female opened her fan and released a few Fuuin Seals, before she turned to her captain. "I'll be going all out from the start. Hope you don't mind, taichou."

Gaara cracked a smile and Dosu shook his head in amusement; Temari never was one to hold back. "By all means." The blonde's Kage Bunshin was also amused and wished he was the real Naruto up in the stadium so he could actually see the match.

"Fuuton: Megamikaze…" She whispered as she practically flew through the hole in the ceiling.

* * *

**Aerial Perspective**  
Chapter 17: Awaiting The Echoes

* * *

With Wind Chakra around the soles of her feet Temari could jump higher and even float for a few seconds. As soon as she landed, her opponent rushed at her immediately. 'What?! No start signal or announcement of the battle?'

She understood why they did this, though. They were trying to make this test seem like the real deal. In a real battle there were no such things as warnings, announcements or signals. Temari smirked and immediately swung her fan diagonally, creating a mediocre tornado around herself to create some distance between herself and her opponent.

Her opponent was none other than the same Jounin that had chased her team during the second test. Darui, she believed his name was.

"You're quick on your feet." The dark-skinned man performed a few intricate handseals and ended with both his hands in front of his face. "Ranton, Laser Circus!"

Temari was the fastest of her squad, not including Naruto. She easily skidded back and back to get away from the many lightning-based beams heading her way. She noticed that Darui could control them and she knew this Jutsu didn't have just ordinary lightning infused in it. No, this Jutsu had that Ranton element, capable of negating even her combo Wind-Fire Jutsu. She had to be extremely careful.

So she used high-speed to get behind Darui and slammed her fan straight into his position. But her speed wasn't as fast as a Shunshin and Darui easily sidestepped the attack, cancelling his own laser Circus in the process. "You're really quick for a Genin…" Darui muttered. "My apologies, but I want to see just how quick." He was suddenly surrounded by a bit of lightning and dashed towards the female.

Darui was quick to notice that Temari had an advantage over him, as her body was surrounded by Wind-natured Chakra. Thanks to that, Darui's Taijutsu was normal Taijutsu, and not Lightning Taijutsu. Temari was actually pushing the Jounin back in her Wind Goddess Mode. "I know enough." Darui muttered as he barely managed to dodge a kick and a strike from the fan at the last second. He jumped backwards, pleased to see he was still faster than the Genin.

'It's ridiculous. She's too strong to be a Genin… Are all Genin from Konoha like this girl? Still, that Jutsu must be taxing on her Chakra reserves…' Darui offered his opponent a dull look, before making some handseals. "Suiton, Gekiruu no Jutsu!"

Just like with Darui's previous Jutsu, he could control this one completely as well. A powerful stream of water was shot from Darui's mouth and headed towards Temari in amazing speed. With a quick one-handed seal, Darui added Lightning to the Water Technique, to see what Temari would do now. Even if she used a Shunshin here, Darui was quick enough with this technique to harm her behind him.

But she didn't use Shunshin. Darui realized at that moment that he was still facing a Genin, maybe she couldn't perform the Shunshin yet… She opened her fan completely and made a complete swing. "Fuuton, Kousoku no Jutsu!"

Darui had to hold back an annoyed growl as he watched Wind-natured Chakra fly from her fan and surrounded his Jutsu, effectively trapping it in mid-air in an air bubble, much like the Water Prison Jutsu. "Unlike you, I don't have my hands occupied holding a Jutsu."

Darui quickly undid his Jutsu as Temari jumped for him. The moment he relinquished the hold he had on his own jutsu, was the moment his Jutsu and hers became completely hers. Darui watched as his own Jutsu, combined with Temari's Wind Restraint technique, would meet him on the exact path his dodge from Temari's attack brought him.

"Ranton no Yoroi." Darui scowled as he didn't think he would use this defense technique against a single Genin. With this armor, he easily walked through Temari's counter. "I suggest you pick up the pace now, Genin… I'm done holding back."

Temari smirked at him. "What a coincidence." She was holding her fan with her left hand and poured Chakra into the Fuuin Seal on her right. "Kuchiyose!" The Kumo Jounin suddenly had the feeling things would become a bit harder. Temari was now holding two big fans in her hands, both completely open. "I'm also done with the warm-up."

"Fuuton Hijutsu, Yakushin!" Darui watched in amazement as Temari started dancing in circles, her fans still completely open. Tornados made of Fire and Wind collided and fused and danced, in much the same fashion as Temari, around them.

And then they relentlessly started attacking him, some fusing into bigger tornados, some turning into smaller ones if they got close to the dodging Jounin. But Darui wasn't an elite Jounin for nothing, he could still easily dodge the Jutsu and even if he did get hit, his Armor prevented almost any damage.

The blonde Genin however, wasn't so easy to approach. It seemed the more powerful tornados, those infused with both Wind and Fire, were protecting her. Those tornados could go toe to toe with his armor, after all. 'But then, how long can she keep this up?' Darui wondered as he repeated a few handseals from before, while dodging small tornados.

"Ranton, Laser Circus!"

Temari watched in relief as his Laser Beams were all negated by her tornados. The bad news was that they completely made her defense disappear. The existing tornados in the area quickly fused and became her new defense. 'His Jutsu can cancel out mine and vice versa.' Temari quickly deduced and knew that Darui realized sooner as she watched him perform the same handseals.

'He's too quick for my Jutsu…' Temari pondered as she focused more on her own defense now. 'I guess a Jounin is still too much for me to handle.' Controlling her Yakushin Jutsu was easy, so she could perform a few additional handseals. "Fuuton, Renkuudan!"

The Jutsu she performed was meant to push Darui back. The problem was that she had to fold one of her fans and strap it to her back to be able to do the technique. "You're strong…" Temari murmured as she reached for her second fan.

Darui, though, held up a hand. "That's alright. There's actually a time-limit for the matches. You're not allowed to go back down to your team to prevent you from telling them this." Darui glanced at where the three Kage sat observing the matches. "In a week or so, you'll be hearing how you performed here. You can rest there and watch the remaining Genin fight." The blonde followed the direction Darui was pointing at to see a small lounge just underneath the balcony where the Kage were seated.

"I see." Temari sent one of her fans back to her scroll while she strapped the other to her back. "Thank you for the match."

"Yeah…" Darui followed after her. "I'm also supposed to wait there."

* * *

"She was originally from Sunagakure, right?" A, the Raikage, spoke out loud to Shi, one of his elite Jounin. "That brat's got some pretty strong subordinates already." In the arena, Maito Gai was opening up a scroll that revealed his opponent, the next Genin contestant.

Next to the Raikage, sat the newly appointed Mizukage, her long auburn hair covering most of her cleavage, but not all. Not much was known about the going-ons in Kiri, but it seemed that things have quieted down; enough at least for a Kage to leave the Village. On both her sides were Ao, an elite Kiri Jounin and Choujuro, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

Leaning against the wall close to the two Kage, was Jiraiya… Sporting a grin the likes of which had never been witnessed before. Of course, he was scribbling things down in a notepad, while occasionally glancing in a certain direction.

The two Kage watched as Gai finally understood what the meaning was of the scroll in his hands, when something bizarre happened.

A swirl in the air revealed one person materializing in front of the Kage. He just appeared in front of all of them and mouthed two words.

"**Shinra Tensei."**

* * *

"I have already dispatched Nagato in several places." Tobi spoke in a calm voice to the other members of the Akatsuki. "I will get you into Kumo as well. Our main goal at the moment is to put a scar on the planet. All will know where Kumo once lay." Tobi turned to Deidara. "You will attack from the sky. On my signal, you have permission to level it to the ground. We need not give damage to our own." Deidara immediately took to the skies after that, a mad grin on his face.

"Kakuzu, do not split yourself up, it makes you too vulnerable in a Village. The explosion you just heard was Nagato's Deva path. The Raikage, Mizukage and Jiraiya should be horribly wounded. Your task is to finish them off."

Sasori and Hidan watched as Tobi used his weird transportation technique on Kakuzu, before they paid attention again. "Hidan, kill everyone."

Hidan held back what seemed to be insane laughter, before Tobi teleported him away. "Sasori, your job is to try and capture only one Jinchuuriki. The Ichibi no Shukaku, Sabaku no Gaara. Use whatever means necessary."

As he teleported the last present member away he turned to a high tree in the distance. 'Now for Nagato's and Konan's further instructions.'

* * *

"Holy…"

The needle stuck in his mouth dropped to the ground. "…Is it bad I feel somewhat happy Hokage-sama isn't here?" Genma managed to let out. The entire balcony the Kage were seated at was no longer there. Now only a lone orange-haired Shinobi in an Akatsuki Cloak seemed to float over the debris flying around.

"No time for jokes, Genma." Kakashi quickly revealed his Sharingan Eye. "That explosion was all Chakra, that guy is no ordinary Shinobi." He turned to his fellow Jounin. "Everyone with a Genin squad should go to their position. The others should help out wherever needed. Although we have no alliance with Kumo or Kiri, Konoha will show them we are reliable Shinobi."

* * *

Kakuzu only saw one of his targets in front of him. Tobi teleported him here so he should be in the right place. 'Did the others die already?' The Raikage had trouble getting up, bleeding profusely from several areas on his body. "Raikage, right? You look weaker than your predecessors."

Kakuzu didn't have time to react as the hurt Kage in front of him disappeared and appeared behind him, smashing him hard into the ground.

A was surprised, though, as Kakuzu kicked him back hard in the ribs. "What a pussy punch." The Akatsuki Member taunted as he sent the Lightning Leader flying. "You're Raiton specialized, right? Catch, oh powerful Kage… Fuuton, Atsuugai!"

Again, A vanished and appeared above Kakuzu. His Wind Blast had been casually ignored. "Guillotine Drop!"

'Shit.. even my Armory Jutsu isn't strong enough fo-'

But the blow wasn't hard at all. Kakuzu quickly kicked the huge man on top of him away, satisfied that his metallic skin saved him again. Then he took a look at the sword that had embedded itself in the ground next to him.

"You should thank Samehada, old man."

* * *

"Akatsuki."

The moment the explosion occurred, was the moment Naruto flew after Jiraiya and teleported him to Temari, who was the only one in his squad who knew Medic Jutsu.

"You… managed to find him during that explosion?"

Naruto looked up from Temari healing Jiraiya to the only Jounin nearby. "Darui, right? Raikage-sama is currently fighting two members of the Akatsuki, Shi is on his way to him. You'd better help out, too. They're strong; Hoshigaki Kisame and Kakuzu. "

With a nod to the blonde, Darui instantly instigated Shunshin. Naruto turned back to Temari and Jiraiya. "You alright, old man?"

"Shut up, little brat." Jiraiya snorted. "I've had bigger attacks land on me." Temari was already done healing him, even. "I see Kakashi has gathered all the Jounin with their Squads and brought them to safety. It's unnecessary for Konoha to get involved."

"You're wrong." Naruto coldly replied to that. "Someone's heading over to where Gaara and the others are. I think he's their target." His cold cerulean eyes focused on Jiraiya for a moment. "Let's help Kumogakure, Jiraiya-sama." He then pointed skywards. "That guy is also very annoying."

Looking up, Jiraiya noticed a weird bird and explosives falling from the sky. "Someone who can fly, huh? Toads eat flies, you know…"

* * *

"Mizukage-sama!"

Ao and Choujuro were crawling towards their fallen leader. "Are you alright, Mizukage-sama!?"

Terumi Mei picked herself up from the ground and looked at her underlings. "I am. You two, however, seem to be in bad shape."

"I suggest you three go back to Kirigakure."

All three turned to the sudden voice. 'I didn't sense this boy…' Mei narrowed her eyes at the blonde standing in front of her.

"Kumogakure is under attack and Shinobi from Konohagakure are assisting in the defense. There's no need for Kirigakure to get involved. My advice for you is to leave." Naruto calmly spoke as he tried to sense if anyone was getting closer to their position.

"Who are you?" Came Ao's raspy voice as he had managed to stand up. That attack had really taken its toll on him. "Don't think you can order Mizukage-sama around, you-"

Mei cut him off. "It's alright, Ao. Although I wouldn't mind you introducing yourself, Konoha-nin."

"It's Uzumaki Naruto. You were attacked by Akatsuki, you aren't what they're after."

'Uzumaki…?' Mei narrowed her eyes a bit at the blonde boy. "I am Mizukage, boy. You think I won't retaliate after being attacked to ruthlessly? Any other Shinobi would have died from an attack like that."

"Suit yourself." He then pointed west. "The Raikage is fighting off two Akatsuki Members that way, perhaps he could use some assistance?"

Mei wanted to reply but couldn't as Naruto vanished just like that, no Chakra or smoke. 'What Jutsu…?' She turned to Ao. "Use your Byakugan! Where did he go?"

The Kiri Jounin was already shaking his head. "I was already using my Byakugan, Mizukage-sama. He simply vanished."

"That means… Maton Ninjutsu? A young kid like that?" Mei clenched her hands. 'Konoha has talented Shinobi that young?' Shaking herself away from the curious subject, she focused on Ao and Choujuro. "Is it true? Is the Raikage fighting someone?"

Ao nodded instantly. "The boy wasn't lying. The Raikage also seems to be losing. A Kumo Jounin is on his way as well, but they... They are strong. One of them is… Hoshigaki Kisame."

Mei grinned a bloodthirsty grin. "Time to cut off a loose end, then."

* * *

The ceiling exploded and all the Genin who were waiting for their match looked completely dumbfounded to see explosions above. Kumo seemed to be under attack. None of them failed to notice the individual landing in front of them, though.

"It seems Deidara is good for something." The strange creature let out.

"Who are you?" Gaara, Naruto's Kage Bunshin and all other participating Genin stared at the weird big person crouching in front of them. "Akatsuki, right?"

"Stall for time, the real me will be here soon." The Kage Bunshin next to Gaara whispered.

"I am Akasuna no Sasori. Come with me willingly and no harm will come to you or the others. Resist and everyone in this room will die except for you, Sabaku no Gaara."

Inside his puppet, Sasori was impressed that a wall of sand suddenly erupted from the ground behind Gaara, separating him, Gaara, Naruto's Shadow Clone and Dosu from all the others. "It seems you misunderstand. You are the one will die here." The hole in the ceiling was also quickly closed by Gaara, making the area they were in significantly darker.

Dosu chuckled. "Don't think too lowly of us now, puppeteer. I can hear the real you inside of that puppet."

"Hoo? Interesting." The puppet moved a bit and its tail swished behind it. "You don't seem too worried. Surely, you know who I am?"

Gaara sighed and gave Dosu a meaningful look. "A Kugutsu user doesn't stand a chance against a Jinchuuriki. Akasuna no Sasori, you're a legendary Shinobi from Suna, but… so am I."

Dosu understood Gaara's message and started unwrapping his bandages. "A Shinobi unsure of his surroundings will be a dead Shinobi."

Naruto just kept quiet behind the duo. He would make sure nothing bad would happen to his friends.

* * *

"Kakashi."

The Sharingan wielding Jounin kept his sight on everything around him as Naruto appeared next to him. Next to Kakashi, stood Gai, Kurenai and Asuma. "I can use Raiton to go underneath. Is this Gaara's doing?" The hole in the ground where the Genin participants would jump out of had been closed off.

The blonde nodded. "Yes. They are facing a member of the Akatsuki, he didn't want anyone interfering. I'll help out by usage of Hiraishin. There's no need to open the ground only for Gaara to face more danger. The Genin down there are safe, but you should be able to get to them." Naruto pointed several feet ahead. "Gaara separated them from himself, right there is where you can use Raiton and get the Genin to safety."

In the back of his mind, the blonde wondered if he could use this confusion Akatsuki spread to finish the mission the Hokage had assigned Kakashi and the other Jounin. The retrieval of Hyuga Hizashi. First he needed to make sure all of his comrades were safe, though. "Go. I'll help Gaara, you help the Genin."

Kakashi nodded and started up his Raikiri. "Follow me!" he ordered the other Konoha Jounin.

Naruto hadn't received a warning from his Kage Bunshin yet, which meant they were somehow handling Sasori. He looked around the battlefield while he sensed someone familiar closing in. The blonde nodded his head, perhaps another powerhouse would come in handy.

"Yo, Kirabi."

* * *

The real Naruto appeared in front of Pein's Deva Path, but the Path didn't seem to want to pay attention to the blonde. "A Chuunin like yourself should know better than to pick a losing battle. Get out of the way or I'll make you disappear."

But Naruto simply grinned, his Toad-like eyes regarding his enemy. "Kage Bunshin!"

Deva Path was looking at all the chaos around Kumo and didn't even seem worried as Naruto's single Kage Bunshin rushed at him. Another orange-haired Akatsuki Member jumped in front of Deva Path and dispelled the Shadow Clone by cutting it in half with a giant axe…

"Your arm can change into an axe." The real Naruto deadpanned as he now faced two Akatsuki members. The new arrival was bald and his body was still changing. Naruto didn't like seeing something coming out of the man's shoulder and aim at him. And then rockets came out, many, many rockets. "What the-?!"

Naruto easily dodged all of them, although that didn't stop the rockets from flying around and damaging buildings and other random Shinobi. "Fine…" The young Uzumaki threw over fifty Kunai at the duo in front of him, but they all missed. Pouring Chakra into his palm, he summoned his sword, the Eigo Kaiki. "Akatsuki, you're going down."

And then he started flashing around the duo, cutting the Gunner of the two down with his Eigo Kaiki. Deva Path watched intrigued as a Chuunin actually managed to move too fast for his eyes. He might have been intrigued, but he didn't like it. "Shinra Tensei!"

With a massive blow, all the Kunai he had scattered around them were blasted away. Naruto himself was flung away as well.

He slammed straight through a wall and wanted to cough up dust, but had to roll sideways as the orange-haired man had followed him. He watched a weird black rod penetrate the ground he landed on, before using Hiraishin to teleport to one of his Kunai.

Looking around, he noticed that he had landed close to man he had cut down. His Eigo Kaiki had been unsummoned when he was hit by that Shinra Tensei. "A powerful blast that blows everything away around him, huh?"

"Hey, Yo!" Naruto looked relieved when the Hachibi Jinchuuriki approached him.

"Kirabi! Nice! I was just fighting off someone really strong!"

"Where he at, this stupid brat?"

"You are pretty good for a Chuunin." Both Kirabi and Naruto looked skywards to see Deva Path floating above them. "Too good to not get rid of." He then stared at Kirabi. "And you're Hachibi." Deva Path's Rinnegan's eyes narrowed and just like that, four other orange-haired Akatsuki Members landed on a roof opposite of theirs. "You're in the way of my plan."

Naruto looked a bit dumbfounded. "Are you guys related?!" The blonde made sure he was ready to use Hiraishin to get everyone he cared about to safety. In the meantime, he could stall and find out more about his opponents.

"Naruto, this is no time for jokes, these be serious folks!"

* * *

Sasori was getting annoyed. Fighting underground didn't leave much for mobility. As a puppeteer, he needed space. He couldn't summon hundred puppets here without restricting all of their movements. Hiruko had easily been defeated by the combined skills of his two opponents. The blonde in the back had only been observing so far. "You seem rather prepared." He grit out. "I guess you leave me no choice but to use lethal Jutsu."

Gaara's eyes widened as Sasori summoned a puppet he immediately recognized.

"Say hello, Sabaku no Gaara, to your grandfather."

"Sandaime… Kazekage. What… how?"

"I can make humans into puppets, I call it Hitokugutsu. Retaining all of his abilities, the Third Kazekage has now become my weapon." To show it off, Sasori made the Third use his Iron Sand to form a medium sized Suna Symbol in mid-air. And then he crushed the symbol and sent it towards his opponents. "Best to dodge, children, as the poison inside is very deadly."

But his Iron Sand hit nothing. In fact, it vanished, it hadn't even evaporated. Sasori was astonished. "…What?"

"That sounded a bit too dangerous." The blonde in the back finally started walking towards Gaara and Dosu and joined them. "I sealed away that dangerous stuff."

"Fuuinjutsu, Space Time Barrier?" Sasori uttered, as it was the only possibility. "… Who are you?" He was trying to see if the Iron Sand was still close by, but it wasn't. "Where did you send it off to?" While he still had Iron Sand at his disposal, he did use a big amount of it before.

Sasori snarled. Fighting a Fuuinjutsu user wasn't smart, especially one who executed a Space Time Barrier so swiftly. He himself knew some Fuuinjutsu, but even he couldn't pull this off. The odds were against him, a Fuuinjutsu user was a bad match-up for a puppeteer. Hell, an advanced Fuuinjutsu user was a bad match-up for anyone.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto. Just like Gaara, I am a Jinchuuriki. You are Akatsuki and you are after the Bijuu inside us." He held a hand to his stomach. "You won't get them... I will destroy Akatsuki."

'Uzumaki, huh? Didn't think I would face one of them again. This one seems to be like a prodigy, being this skilled in Fuuinjutsu at such a young age.'

"Fret not, Sasori."

The puppet-like man turned his head a bit to see that Itachi had appeared out of nowhere. It made Sasori suspect that Itachi knew Maton Ninjutsu. "We seem to be facing off against quite the youngsters, Itachi."

"One of them is just a Kage Bunshin. And I have defeated these two before." Itachi calmly replied, his hands still in his pockets. "Naruto-kun, we are here for Gaara-kun now." He activated his Mangekyou Sharingan and the Konoha-nin wisely kept their gaze away from it. "Surely, you don't want a repeat?"

* * *

The moment he heard someone yell out Kuchiyose and saw a massive plume of smoke rise above the village, Deidara knew something was up. He didn't expect to be dodging Tongue Attacks from a gigantic Toad seconds later, though.

"Damn this! My explosions can't even hurt the damn toad!" Deidara was desperately flailing through the air as Gamabunta only seemed to be having fun. "If this goes on I'll go ahead and skip to the finale, to hell with the plan, then! Yeah!"

Deidara cackled madly as the bird he was on got captured and he was falling down. "Fuck this! I'll use C3!"

Tobi, who was observing everything from a distance, noticed this and cursed. "Shit."

* * *

The Raikage and the Mizukage were panting slightly as they fended off Kisame and Kakuzu. "They're stronger than I expected." Mei admitted. She could have handled Kisame by herself, probably, but Kakuzu was just as strong.

"Why didn't you bring a Medic?!" The Raikage roared, his body was still a bleeding mess. Behind the two, Darui was still up, but wary and smart enough to see he was being outmatched. Ao was the same, next to Darui. Both were just waiting for openings.

Choujuro had been knocked out very early, as Kisame was enraged to see someone with a Legendary Sword such as the one he himself owned. He had almost killed the boy had the Mizukage not interfered.

"This is hardly the time to complain." Mei responded testily. She was extremely pissed off at Kisame for butchering Choujuro like that. The boy was dying as they were surviving.

Suddenly, a masked man appeared out of nowhere behind Kisame and Kakuzu. "Scatter. Deidara's gone mad."

Kakuzu and Kisame both sighed, before they quickly turned tail.

The Raikage and Mizukage looked at each other, before quickly turning to their underlings. "Let's get back!" Ao picked the wounded Choujuro up before all of them looked up when a blinding flash alerted them to some really bad news.

* * *

"Itachi…"

Sasori and Itachi both turned at the sudden arrival of Tobi. "… I see." Was all they said as Tobi took them away from the underground fight.

"I wonder what that meant?" Dosu asked Gaara.

Naruto seemed extremely panicked as he rushed towards Gaara and Dosu.

* * *

"Summon them! Losing them over something as fickle as this would be stupid… Damn that Deidara."

Konan did as Nagato told her and used the Kuchiyose no Jutsu to summon all of Nagato's Paths to the high tree they had built.

* * *

From up in the sky, Jiraiya's eyes widened as Deidara's bomb went off in the middle of Kumogakure.

In the distance, Raikage had to shield himself with all the Chakra he had left as he was sucked into the explosion. The Mizukage did much the same, surrounding herself and whoever was close enough with a Lava Dome.

Naruto used Hiraishin to get his subordinates to a safe place, but didn't know if he could make it in time for all the others. If anything, he needed… He needed Tsunade!

The explosion almost completely destroyed Kumogakure…

* * *

Tobi shook his head at the members currently in front of him.

"Sabaku no Gaara is no longer in Kumogakure." He let out in slight frustration. "I assume he is now well protected within the walls of Konoha, thanks to Uzumaki Naruto's Hiraishin no Jutsu. Capturing the Jinchuuriki seems to be harder than I anticipated."

"Uzumaki Naruto is but a Chuunin. He is no threat." Nagato, in his mechanical walker, rolled into the room the Akatsuki members were all in. "I fought him and he barely touched me."

"He may be Chuunin, but his Jutsu are far above what a Chuunin should have in his arsenal. I think we have to focus on the Kyuubi first." Akatsuki's puppeteer was, as always, standing while the others were seated. A puppet like him didn't need to sit, after all.

"Sasori may be right, but the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is cunning." Tobi sighed as he put his mask down and revealed all the others his face. Kisame recognized him and smirked. "I believe it's time you all know what the real goal of this organization is." His fists clenched. "Uzumaki Naruto has become a major hindrance."

"…"

"Wait a minute… Where's Hidan?" Kisame suddenly let out. "Did you forget?"

"Of course I didn't, Kisame." Uchiha Obito sighed as he laid his mask on the table in their midst. "Hidan survives everything. That explosion was nothing to him. Right now, Kumogakure is too dangerous. Killer B is in full Bijuu Mode and the Raikage is very angry. To top that off, Uzumaki Naruto managed to bring Tsunade to Kumo and she is currently patching up the populace by usage of her Summon, Katsuyu."

"I'll wait until things simmer down to fetch the mess that is Hidan. Deidara is on his way back and managed to escape from Jiraiya." He turned to Nagato. "I believe you should set him straight, he is a very unreliable member."

"I'll partner him up with Itachi." Nagato shrugged.

For a second, Itachi didn't seem as amused as the chuckling Kisame.

"But at least… Kumogakure has been leveled to the ground. The world now knows Akatsuki." Nagato uttered coldly, before he turned to Obito. "Now, perhaps it's time you introduce yourself to the others?"

"Yes… I am Uchiha Obito. And you will all follow my lead."

* * *

TIMESKIP – TWO MONTHS

* * *

'Kage Henge no Jutsu… Latent Ability, huh?' Naruto was reading through the blood scroll his future self had left him. There wasn't much to grasp as it all came… naturally to him. As soon as he read what the future Naruto had written down, he immediately understood and felt like an idiot for not having found out about it sooner.

The second test of the Kumo Chuunin Exams had made him wondering about the Jutsu he hadn't fully experimented with. It could become a fighting style on its own, after all. Just like he had Toad Mode and Jinchuuriki Mode, he could call this... Army Mode.

But to become a master with this Jutsu…

As if on cue, a knock came from the door to this temporary apartment.

"Come in, Anko-sempai."

Anko stepped past him into the small hallway leading to the living room. "The others?"

"They're in the other apartment, we're all alone here."

The purple-haired Jounin gave him a wink and walked into the living room. "These couches aren't big enough for the both us, though."

The blonde Chuunin paused, as he was being in a pretty serious mood. "Huh? What… do you mean?" He didn't really know this Anko that well, yet. All he knew was that she was crazy as hell. But he didn't expect her to be like… this.

"You heard me." She simply gave him an evil grin before sitting down on the larger couch of the two, choosing to lie down instead a moment later. "So… what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Bingo Book." Naruto answered truthfully. "I already asked Kakashi-sensei a lot about it. I'm a Chuunin so I'm not permitted to have one in my possession. Sensei told me you know a lot about the Shinobi in the Bingo Book, so…"

"What, you want me to give you biographies? That's too boring and too much talking. Hell, that would even be too much talking for Maito Gai!" Anko snorted as she got comfortable on the couch, while Naruto moved to the other couch.

"I'd still want it, though."

"You're a boring date, kid." The Special Jounin considered the blonde with a mischievous tint in her eyes, but he didn't understand what she was implying. With a sigh, she continued. "What's in it for me?"

"… You want something in return?"

Sitting up, the Jounin rolled her eyes at him. "You should know by now nothing comes for free, especially information." Her stern gaze changed into a seductive one. "Don't you know what I want, Naruto-kun?"

Ever the clueless Shinobi, Naruto seriously regarded Anko. "No, I don't. How about… equipment, kunai?"

"You're stupid." She said and she was a bit amused to see him frown. "Tell you what… You and I spar before we leave for Konoha and I'll tell you about every Shinobi I know. But… we spar seriously." She paused, for the first time considering the weird request. "What do you want to know, anyway?"

"Their character, Jutsu and fighting styles. Don't even bother telling me anything about anyone if you don't know all three."

* * *

Kumogakure was still mostly in shambles, but many buildings had already been repaired. The Village was still in mourning and many had still died, despite Tsunade's many efforts.

"Konoha Shinobi, I've thanked the others for your assistance when they departed a week ago, the same gratitude applies to you as well." The Raikage let out in an almost reluctant voice, frowning at the grinning blonde captain of the Genin Team from Konoha. Leaning against the wall behind the team was one of the Sannin, Jiraiya, who had chosen to stay behind as well.

"Don't sweat it, old man!" Naruto hollered. "These Chuunin Exams would have been boring without my interference!"

Mabui bristled at the blonde, before bonking him on the head once. "Respect, Naruto-kun!"

"Leave the idiot be, he's hopeless!" The huge man, in the meantime, had smashed his own table in two before he said that. "Since Jiraiya-sama is travelling back to Konoha with you lot, I'm sure you'll be fine on your own." Meaning he didn't want to send a Kumo team with them to escort them to Konoha. "Unless you want someone along?" He suddenly grinned at Naruto.

The blonde Konoha Chuunin looked genuinely confused. "… I have no idea what you're talking about, old geezer. We'll be fine!"

The door to A's office suddenly opened and the blonde Samui walked in, regarding everyone else before bowing to the Raikage once. "You've requested my presence, Raikage-sama?"

"… No, Naruto did."

"WHAT?!"

The Raikage chuckled at Naruto's eruption, before regaining his 'calm' composure. "You're a pretty stupid Shinobi, kid." He was staring at Samui's ever neutral expression. "You two are somewhat similar in certain fields… But anyway… If you need it, Samui's team can escort you back to Konoha."

"That won't be necessary." Came the unexpected voice of Jiraiya. "We've received a mission from the Hokage… Our next stop is not Konoha."

"I see… Such a shame, too." Naruto somehow felt like he should glare at A's grin, instead of being confused by it. "Then by all means, leave! Samui's team will see you off at the gates!"

"Raikage-sama." Naruto bowed formally in front of the leader and the entire atmosphere in the office changed to one of sorrow. "I am sorry I couldn't prevent what happened…" He looked up to see A completely emotionless. "Please consider my offer."

"You'll hear from me, Naruto." A offered a smile and a hand, which Naruto shook immediately. "Thank you for what you did, we will not forget."

* * *

"Powerful Shinobi are usually unorthodox individuals… Curious, why is that?" Dosu wondered out loud as the rest of team Unsan followed after Samui, Karui and Omoi.

"That's simple." The blonde fan user of the group replied, walking in step with Dosu. "The power rises to their head and the brain can't handle it. Look at Naruto and Jiraiya, for instance." Dosu's deadpan look seemed a reflection to the bickering duo walking closest to Samui's team.

"They've… gotten closer. Something happened between them." Temari's youngest brother suddenly spoke. "There is trust between them now, like… like with Naruto and I." Gaara ignored the urge to destroy the two metal puppets walking to Kankurou's left and right. The one to Kankurou's right was too close to him for his liking. And they made too much noise.

"They're awfully similar, too." Tayuya piped up, she was walking on Gaara's other side. "Loud and annoying."

"Dosu." The bandaged nin looked over his shoulder to see why Gaara was addressing him. "Your specialty is sound. It is in Kankurou's best interest you learn how to keep his dolls quiet."

The former Oto-nin considered it. "It'll take constant Chakra away from me… The best way is to teach Kankurou silencing Fuuinjutsu. The only person I know who can do such is Uzumaki-taichou." Gaara almost instantly turned to Naruto at that.

"Uzumaki-taichou."

Kankurou simply ignored all of them or was too immersed with controlling the heavy puppets.

* * *

"Here."

Samui regarded the weird set of Kunai Naruto presented to her, before staring at him. "Why do I need these?"

The rest of Naruto's team had already started walking away, including Jiraiya. It left Naruto to say his goodbyes to Samui's team. "One's for you, the other two are for Kirabi and Yugito. This… summons me when you throw it, kind of."

"The Hiraishin…" Omoi whispered in amazement, not believing he would trust Shinobi from another Country so easily.

"Yes." The blonde Konoha-nin confirmed. "These last few months have made it clear that if I want you as my allies, I need to be able to protect you. The Akatsuki is too dangerous."

With slight hesitancy, Samui took the three Hiraishin Kunai from Naruto, eyeing them curiously. Again, she lifted her gaze to meet Naruto's. "… Thank you, Naruto."

The other blonde gave a smile, before turning serious. "Don't forget to give them to Yugito and Kirabi and explain to them what they do. It's very important." Naruto then offered his hand to Samui. "Until we meet again… It might be a while."

Samui took his hand in hers and shook it, but didn't let go. "… I've enjoyed your company, Naruto." Her gaze turned quite intense and Naruto forgot all about Omoi and Karui standing behind her. "Be careful."

Omoi's eyes widened as he watched the exchange between Naruto and Samui. He nudged Karui in the shoulder, but saw she was just as surprised as he was.

"..A-ah.." Naruto confirmed, realizing now just how warm Samui's hand was in his. "Me too, Samui. Enjoyed your company…" He tilted his head somewhat, feeling a little bit awkward all of a sudden. "I'll… You be careful too. Don't hesitate to summon me with the Kunai, ok?"

"I won't." Naruto gulped as Samui's grip tightened around his hand and she closed the distance between them, making Omoi and Karui yelp out in shock. But she only gazed in Naruto's eyes as their faces were close to one another. It looked as if she wanted to say something and Naruto looked much the same, but no words came out.

And then, she abruptly let go of his hand and turned around. "I'll be seeing you." Karui and Omoi fell on the ground at that and Naruto was quite red-faced.

"Y-yeah…" He watched, quite mesmerized, as Samui walked away. Karui and Omoi were a mess on the floor, so it was easy to turn to them. "You guys take care of her, yeah?"

With that, he turned and followed after the rest of his squad. "He… He was actually kinda cool." Omoi stuttered as he picked himself up of the ground.

Karui simply stared at Naruto's fading form in the distance. "Samui's rubbing off on you." She sighed once and let Omoi help her up. "But yeah, he's a dependable guy."

"A lucky bastard is what he is."

* * *

A watched as the last of the Konoha-nin left Kumo. "Akatsuki has made an enemy out of us. He said he wanted you as an ally, right?"

Kirabi was very serious as he stood behind his brother, also watching Naruto and his team leave. "Akatsuki will pay for this… I will ally myself with him, brother. He seems to know what he's doing and I think… I think he is already stronger than I am." When he wasn't rhyming, Kirabi was angry and these last few weeks, he was often angry. His own village had been destroyed, just like that. Even though it was being rebuilt, things would never be the same. It would be a while before he would give a rap performance again.

"Perhaps he is." A agreed. "And that's a dangerous thought. If the Akatsuki has single individuals capable of causing this… Then we should crush them, as Naruto wants. As I want!"

B considered all the men and women working on rebuilding Kumogakure all around him, as they watched from the highest mountain in Kumo. "Not all of Kumo got hit, but…"

"We owe him and her." A reminded him. "We owe them too much. We will ally ourselves with Uzumaki Naruto, that is all he asked for in return. I will never betray him for saving most of the lives in Kumogakure."

"Tsunade-sama too?" B asked.

A grumbled a bit. "I suppose. That wrench hasn't changed a bit." He couldn't believe the nerve of the woman for making him negate all the debts she had in the Land of Lightning. Still, a small price to pay for the lives almost lost by that Iwa Nukenin Deidara.

Yes, A more than tripled the bounty on that bastard.

* * *

"Killing him off is very good for business, Nagato." A masked Akatsuki member offered as he handed the person in front of him a suitcase full of money.

Pein's Deva Path had been in conversation with Sasori when Kakuzu walked in.

"He still has some uses." Deva Path replied.

"He's a powerful member, just a bit too… explosive." Sasori added his two cents.

"I'll make sure I'm the one who kills him when he is no longer useful, then." The oldest in the room turned away. "He'll be a fun kill, I think."

Turning back to the conversation, Deva Path continued where they left off. "So, Uzumaki Naruto knows Hiraishin no Jutsu and advanced Fuuinjutsu. His mother and father were Namikaze Minato and… Uzumaki Kushina."

Somewhere a bit further away, Nagato hesitated a bit, as he thought of his own last name. When he first heard the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki's full name, he thought Konoha had just used his last name as a ruse.

"So, we truly are related then, Uzumaki Naruto…"

* * *

"So you haven't spoken to Tsunade yet?"

"Are you kidding?!" Naruto yelled at Jiraiya. "She was furious with me before I teleported her to Kumogakure. Last time I saw her was in the presence of the Raikage and even then she looked ready to rip my head off and feed it to that pig of hers!"

"You kinda deserve it, Taichou, for doing that to her assistant." Temari offered as she walked behind the duo next to Tayuya.

"Even I think that went too far, asshole." The redhead agreed. "Real torture is what it was."

"I know, I know! I'll apologize to Shizune and Tsunade soon, ok?" Naruto blew out some air in slight frustration. "As soon as Tsunade-sama doesn't look like she wants to massacre me."

"Might be long, kid. She still looks at ME that way just for checking out her boobies twenty years ago!"

Naruto's team offered Jiraiya a dull look.

* * *

TBC

Alas, another Chuunin Exam that didn't get finished. In the next chap you'll see who made Chuunin and who didn't. Be warned though, next chapter will focus on training and then a Time-Skip.

I know some things were a bit rushed… Many things probably. Let me know if you want me to expand on something, because I actually have it all figured out. I just didn't think it all necessary to type out. The fights between Shinobi and the Akatsuki members for example, those were meant as a distraction for Sasori to easily bag Gaara. Akatsuki's plan was to let Deidara drop the C3 on Kumo after that.

I know I didn't include any Konoha Genin in this chap, but they were kinda trapped by Gaara for safety reasons, right? Sasuke, Sakura, Neji and Shikamaru included. When Kakashi went to get them to safety, that's what he did… and didn't. Tsunade had to heal them, too, as you'll find out in a flashback. The same doesn't go for Tayuya and Kankurou. You'll see in a flashback how they were fighting against one of Pein's paths. And then some…

The Anko-Naruto spar will come soon, as I have plans for Anko. (No this won't be NaruAnko, you might have noticed the NaruSamui moment but I'm not even sure about that one! Romance might ruin things, after all)

The Mizukage and Kiri will from now on also be involved in this fic and the Raikage is actually pissed off at Iwagakure for not dealing with their Nukenin...

Naruto will have several modes in which he can fight… All modes have their weaknesses and strengths.

Questions? Fire away!


	19. Impatient Blitz

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: It's weird that Naruto already had whiskers BEFORE the Kyuubi got sealed into him…

On FFN, I've seen many authors write for the single reason of getting reviews. Authors that put up polls for pairings (or whatnot) and authors that won't update their stories unless they get a certain amount of reviews are pretty annoying. No, they actually should be banned. They're simply writing to be praised.

I'm not saying I don't enjoy getting reviews, but it doesn't really bother me if I would get none. I'd still update my stories, even if it sometimes takes quite a while. (I apologize)

No, my reason for writing is reading. I like to read my own stories! Should I be embarrassed? Perhaps… At times I'm ashamed because my writing is lacking, particularly in the description department. I admit that it should be better since I've been writing for years, but… I don't know, I like writing succinctly. I'm very sure other authors would work out my ideas in a better way and I would encourage them to! The reason I read my own stories is because I like the ideas in them, the plots. For that reason, I'll always consider writing Fanfiction an eternal hobby of mine, no matter how old I will be.

END RANT

I have a few recommendations, stories you should read. I know the titles without looking them up:

Life In Konoha's ANBU, The Shinobi Way, Better Left Unsaid, Danzo's Team and my favorite: The Lives Worth Saving. The last one hasn't been updated in quite some time, but that's alright, the story is very good.

* * *

The Third Hokage was reading A-Ranked and a few S-Ranked mission reports focused on corpse retrievals. According to past events all around the world, the Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei no Jutsu, developed by the Second Hokage, was still being used out there. He had to make sure that no graves could be robbed in Konoha.

Unfortunately, a few were already missing.

The White Fang, The first two Kage, The Yondaime Hokage, Uzumaki Kushina, his father Sarutobi Sasuke and even his own son… their bodies had all not been recovered. It seems someone had taken them a long time ago, even. It was known Orochimaru had taken the Shodaime and Nidaime, of course. During the Sound-Sand Invasion, their bodies were dispelled the moment Orochimaru was taken down. The Snake Sannin's usage of Edo Tensei truly was like that of any normal Kuchiyose.

Hiruzen realised the Edo Tensei's weakness was to take out the user of the Jutsu, but he feared that the Edo Tensei Orochimaru used was an incomplete Jutsu...

Kumogakure had been informed about the Forbidden Jutsu and was taking the same measures Konoha was taking. The mission from before was unnecessary, as the Raikage had sent the body of Hyuga Hizashi back to Konoha. Of course, to be burned.

All bodies were to be burned so they couldn't be used for the Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei. From now on, all Shinobi will be cremated after death, for limitation of this Jutsu.

* * *

**Aerial Perspective**

Chapter 18: Impatient Blitz

* * *

"Your mission today is to Henge into Naruto, buy clothes and equipment for our team, buy groceries and buy Dango for the team." Kakashi ordered Sakura as he was seated on a tree branch reading Icha Icha. "Clear?"

The pink-haired girl frowned up at Kakashi from the ground. Sasuke was playing Shogi on the ground with Shikamaru, a temporary team addition, behind her. "Why?"

Sakura wore a Chuunin Uniform with a red vest underneath. Her hair was just as long as during her Academy days, but she wore it in a knot similar to Anko's.

"Team bonding." Kakashi answered flippantly while flipping a page in his favorite book.

The newly promoted Chuunin didn't seem too pleased. "Naruto's not in our team anymore, remember? Hell, he hasn't been in Konoha for months!"

The Copy Ninja fixed the pinkhead with a steady stare. "Perform your duty, Sakura." Kakashi, ever since Jiraiya had briefed him about Akatsuki, had taken to extreme training again. Since all his subordinates were Chuunin now, he had more time on his hands.

"Kuh! … Fine." She performed a handseal. "Henge!"

"Ah, close." Kakashi responded surprisingly instantly. "But it seems you've forgotten something."

Sasuke stared at the Naruto transformation and shook his head in disappointment. "You're a true idiot for forgetting something so obvious."

"… What?" The girl actually glared at the Uchiha. Sakura was no longer the rabid fangirl she used to be. Shikamaru was busy ignoring everything around him except the Shogi match. "What'd I forget?"

The Copy-Ninja flipped another page. He wasn't really reading as his Sharingan had actually remembered every single page. The joys of a Sharingan. "The whiskers, Sakura. It seems you don't really know your teammates. How rude."

Groaning, Sakura dispelled her Henge and performed it again, this time whiskers included. "How's this?" The girl transformed into Naruto asked.

Sasuke considered the Naruto standing next to him. "Yeah, that's better. I really get the feeling I want to hit you in the face now. Definitely better."

"That's rude!" 'Naruto' pointed a finger at Sasuke but was promptly ignored. With a sigh, the only girl in the clearing moved towards the town.

"So you're finally setting her straight, Kakashi? It's about time." Sasuke voiced as soon as Sakura was out of sight. He cringed as Shikamaru took one of his valuable pieces on the Shogi board. 'Crap…'

"You don't know how right you are, Sasuke." Kakashi landed on the ground in front of Sasuke and Shikamaru. "Since Shikamaru will win in two steps anyway, let's start with the morning exercises."

Sasuke glared at both Shikamaru and Kakashi. He never did like losing.

"Already?" Shikamaru groaned, making it seem like it took all the power in the world just to rise from his seated position.

* * *

"Fuutonnnnn, -!"

Two yells synchronized, but nothing happened. Jiraiya had his arms folded over one another as he stared the two wind users down. "Pathetic. And you guys think you're Jounin material? I'm surprised one of you is even Chuunin!"

"How about I knock you down, Jiraiya?"

"Please, I've got years of experience ove-" The Toad Hermit hopped away from a Kunai and simply grinned at the blonde who threw it. "See? I had my eyes closed, even."

Naruto huffed. "Tcheh, can YOU do Collaboration Jutsu? I can't picture seeing you and Tsunade or Orochimaru doing any of this!"

Temari, who stood at the other end of the clearing, couldn't help but agree. She had never seen the other two of the Sannin in person, but she knew OF them. "Add to the fact you seem just as clumsy as Naruto."

"Hey!" Two indignant voices echoed.

"Whatever, let's try this again! Naruto, you taught Temari your Ni Kuuatsu, right? Perform it together. Target each other and cancel each other's Jutsu out. The both of you will have to read just how much Chakra the other is using." Jiraiya ordered him. "Temari, you perform it first. Naruto, you will adjust to her technique, don't overpower it and don't be overpowered by it. This is important, you'll learn how to read how much Chakra is being used by your opponent."

"Fuuton, Ni Kuuatsu!"

"Fuuton, Ni Kuuatsu!"

Jiraiya quickly backpedalled, realizing the destructive nature of the technique. As it was, Naruto poured too much Chakra in his Jutsu, but Temari foresaw this. She knew her Captain and his oblivious nature, after all.

The collision of their Jutsu created an Orb composed of Wind Chakra being sent Temari's way. Jiraiya's eyes widened. 'That's like a flying Rasengan!'

Temari jumped away as the orb made contact with a tree behind her. The trio watched the destruction in awe; the orb expanded and took away four trees, cutting them up in little pieces of nothing. "So, with four different pressure directions… you create something like that, huh?" Naruto let out enthusiastically. 'It's weaker than the normal Rasenshuriken, but it doesn't take that much Chakra.'

"Interesting Combo Jutsu…" Jiraiya murmured as he watched the results. "It seems like the Wind Chakra acts like little razor blades…"

* * *

He had read all the reports he had received about the team he was to accompany. He wasn't surprised he was assigned to them because of his abilities, but they were different than how he had assumed them to be. Jinchuuriki, as far as he knew, were always unstable and quick to anger.

The two he was with were quite the opposite.

At the moment, he was only with half of the team. Jiraiya had taken the other half for some training. The others were busy training and sparring, while he was writing up a report for the Hokage. He had been spending time with Jiraiya and his team for quite some time now.

_ANBU – 010992 _

_Report #013 – Skill Determination #009_

_Time: 4 months_

_Subjects – 054114, 054002, 053004, 056001, 055007, 012607, 002301_

_**054114 – Moto Oto-nin – **_

_Subject's ability is an uncanny control over sound waves and frequencies.  
Registered Jutsu:_

_Oton, Hibiki Ayatsuri - Sound Manipulation_

_Oton, Mokunen – Total Silence_

_Oton, Museion – Communication Control_

_Oton, Shinpaku – Amplitude_

_Oton, Teishuuha – Low frequency_

_Oton, Kensou – Tumult_

_Oton, Shigo – Murmur Technique_

_Oton, Maneru – Mimicking Jutsu_

_Oton, Zankuuha/Zankyokukuhaa – Sound Blast_

_Estimated Level: High Chuunin_

_**054002 – Moto Suna-nin – **_

_Talented Kugutsu User – First seen to use Metal Puppets_

_Use of poison and drugs_

_Registered Jutsu:_

_Kugutsu no Jutsu – Puppetry Technique_

_Kairai Engeki: Kuro Higikiki Ippatsu – Puppet Theatre_

_Doku Kiri Jigoku – Poison Mist Hell_

_Kairai Engeki: Kuro Higikiki Nihatsu – Capture Torture Technique_

_Estimated Level: High Chuunin_

_**053004 – Moto Suna-nin – **_

_Talented Fan User – Fuuton User_

_Registered Jutsu:_

_Kamaitachi - _

_Daikamaitachi - _

_Kuchiyose: Kirikirimai – Quick Beheading_

_Fuuton: Renkuudan – _

_Fuuton: Ni Kuuatsu – Double Pressure_

_Fuuton: Megamikaze – Wind Goddess_

_Fuuton: Fuujikomu – _

_Fuuton: Kousoku – _

_Fuuton Hijutsu – Yakushin – _

_Fuuton: Atsuugai – _

_Estimated Level: Low Jounin_

_**056001 – Moto Suna-nin – **_

_Sand Specialist_

_Register Jutsu:_

_Sabaku Kyuu – Desert Coffin_

_Sabaku Sousou – Desert Graveyard_

_Suna Bunshin – Sand Clone_

_Suna no Tate – Sand Shield_

_Suna no Yoroi – Sand Armor_

_Fuuton: Renkuudan_

_Suna Shuriken_

_Sabaku Rou – Desert Prison_

_Ryuusa Bakuryuu – Desert Avalanche_

_Sabaku Taisou – Desert Burial_

_Sabaku Fuyuu – Sand Platform_

_Suna Shigure – Sand Rain_

_Daisan no Me – Third Eye_

_Sabaku Hoko – Sand Halberd_

_Estimated Level: Jinchuuriki/Jounin_

_**055007 – Moto Oto-nin – **_

_Genjutsu Specialist_

_Registered Jutsu:_

_Kuchiyose: Doki – Summoning Technique: Ogres_

_Mateki: Genbuso Kyoku – Demonic Flute: Doki Control_

_Mateki: Mugen Onsa: Genjutsu: Phantom Chains_

_Makyo no Ran: Doki Skill: Revolt of the Demon World_

_Estimated Level: High Chuunin/Low Jounin_

_**Konoha-nin - 012607 – **_

_Fuuinjutsu Specialist_

_Subject has the ability to absorb Elemental Chakra_

_Kage Bunshin – Shadow Clone_

_Kage Shuriken/Kunai – Weapon Multiplying Technique_

_Fuuin Bunshin – Seal Clone/Invisible Clone_

_Kage Henge – Shadow Transformation – __**Incomplete Assessment**_

_Fuuton: Haishou no Jutsu – Lift Off Technique_

_Fuuton: Ku Kimakura – Air Cushion_

_Fuuton: Genkosaku – Cleaving Blow_

_Fuuton: Gufuu Suuheidou – Horizontal Tornado_

_Fuuton: Ryouka Furiorosa – Massive Descent_

_Fuuton: Fuujin no Mae – Wind Sickle_

_Fuuton: Reppuuken – Violent Wind Fist_

_Yomi Numa – Underground Swamp_

_Shishi Enjin – Four Violet Flames Battle Formation - Barrier_

_Zettai Fugen: Sound Barrier_

_Estimated Level: Jinchuuriki/Jounin_

_**002301 – **_

_Legendary Shinobi of Leaf_

_No dulled skills  
No new skills or Jutsu observed_

_Estimated Level: N/A_

Tenzou rubbed the back of his head in slight frustration. He was a pro in deducting skills, but Naruto and Gaara never really showed anything. Most of the Jutsu that he had jotted down were already known before his given mission, after all. He heard of Naruto's Kage Henge thanks to Anko.

He watched Dosu and Kankurou bicker about an unfair match, while Gaara was shaking his head in amusement. This team was highly skilled and very dangerous. When Jiraiya told him this team had the purpose of taking down S-ranked Nuke-nin, he was skeptical at first, but over the months spent with them… He believed they could pull it off.

* * *

"They think they're going to have a hard time there?" Naruto responded skeptically as he was reading the mission progressions. "Land of Snow, huh? I've never been there, is it close to the Land of Iron?"

Jiraiya rolled his eyes at his godson. "Did you forget? Back when we were in the Land of Iron, I wanted to show you the abandoned lands of Snow. Remember what we saw? People! So I investigated and found out there are actually Shinobi living there… I am Konoha's number one Information Gatherer, you know."

"But could Kakashi-sensei really have trouble with Snow Shinobi? Well it doesn't really matter since it sounds like fun! When are they leaving for the mission?!" Naruto hollered enthusiastically.

"You're the captain of your team, but ultimately, I am the one who's in charge of this anti-Akatsuki business, you know." The Toad Hermit muttered. Temari was busy pestering Yamato about a spar, while Gaara and Tayuya were out buying dinner for all of them. They were in the lands of Wave at the moment. Naruto and Jiraiya had bought an entire apartment complex in Wave, since Naruto liked going there so often. "Kakashi's team hasn't even been given the mission yet."

"I'll assume not our entire team needs to be dispatched for this." Dosu threw in his cents, walking up to the trio. "Knowing Naruto, he wants to go because it's his old team. I particularly don't feel like going to Yukigakure. I am at a disadvantage because of the cold." His body was half-metalized, after all.

The blonde captain sneered at the bandaged nin. "You're ALWAYS at a disadvantage, Dosu."

The Sound specialist simply shrugged. "Best to think you're at a disadvantage than an advantage. Overestimating oneself will do none any good. Except the opponent."

Kankurou was grinning to himself as he was controlling three metal puppets as they were in some sort of wrestling match with each other. "I don't know, a little overconfidence doesn't hurt. Insecurity can be a major gap in your defense." He had made his puppets so sturdy in the time they left Konoha they were even able to withstand the average Fuuton Jutsu Temari threw at them.

He hated it when she broke his puppets. 'Accident, Shmaccident.'

"Kankurou, try not to break shit in the living room, please." Naruto requested.

"You sound like Temari."

The blonde chose to ignore the remark. "Who wants to go? If I'm going then Gaara's going too." Being the two Jinchuuriki of the team, they made the rule that the two of them should be separated as little as possible. Taking on two Jinchuuriki should prove too much of a challenge even for Akatsuki.

"I'm staying here with the girls." Jiraiya grinned. "Take Dosu and Kankurou with you." He ignored Naruto's sputters on how he just wanted to be a pervert.

"I believe I have already given my opinion." Dosu, as always, seriously retorted. "I am a liability in the Land of Snow."

"Actually, going there might make you stronger. Who knows when you'll have fight an opponent who knows Ice Techniques?" The tall Toad summoner countered.

"They are close to extinct, I believe. And if there are any, they would be in the Land of Snow." The metallic Shinobi deadpanned. "A ticket to Ice torture? I think I shall pass."

"Actually, I have a friend who knows Ice Jutsu, perhaps I should ask him to accompany us on this mission? That could prove entertaining…" Naruto said with a grin, thinking on how to convince Zabuza and Haku to go with him to the Land of Snow. He hadn't spoken to the duo ever since he saved them.

"Yeah, I think I'll go and see how they are doing."

Jiraiya groaned as his student disappeared without so much as a goodbye. "Impulsive little bastard."

* * *

"Your plan is insane. Even if you and this bozo do know Fuuinjutsu a bit, I'm sure the situation will backfire. Taking on a Bijuu isn't my favorite thing to do these days. You speak of saving your friend, but it's impossible. If he died, then he had a chance of revival thanks to the Bijuu. But that chance is almost zero, because a Bijuu would obviously choose freedom over healing his host." He snorted. "Why do you think he's still in there?"

Ao, a former Kiri Elite Jounin, seemed a bit offended by being called a 'bozo' by the insane swordsmen, but didn't comment on it. He had to be and remain professional in front of his leader.

"We never defeated Yagura, he just went insane and went berserk. The Three-Tails rampaged and killed a few, but only those who attacked it. He's still roaming free around Kirigakure" Mei could tell Zabuza wasn't convinced. "Listen, we've managed to save Ameyuri and Kushimaru, but the others have fallen. Choujuuro is a newly appointed Swordsmen-"

"By you." She got cut off by Zabuza. "You've got skills, but you don't deserve to appoint Swordsmen just like that. You might be the Mizukage now, but even the Mizukage doesn't decide on Swordsmen. Swordsmen are chosen by Swordsmen and there is only one way. Hoshigaki Kisame is a perfect example on how a Swordsmen is born. Death and murder choose us. Fuguki's skill had grown dull, which is a true embarrassment, as his sword was probably the strongest of all our swords."

The woman in front of Zabuza narrowed her eyes at him. "That may be true, but Choujuuro can wield the sword perfectly."

Zabuza eyed the uncertain boy behind Terumi Mei with disdain. "The Hiramekarei… can be a very powerful sword. It depends on the user's will and strength. Mangetsu was true master with it, I don't see you reaching that level, boy."

"Enough, Zabuza." Mei glared at him. "Spare me the scare tactics. The sword fell in my possession and I gave it to him. It belonged to me so now it belongs to him. I believe in the boy and I want you to train him."

"Tcheh." Zabuza looked away. "This little rescue party you got going doesn't leave me impressed, Mei. The Sanbi will rip all of you to shreds."

Zabuza frowned as Mei and the Shinobi all around suddenly tensed: they all readied their weapons and gathered Chakra. "What, did I upset you?"

"Ah… Zabuza-sama."

He turned around when he heard Haku and was surprised to see Naruto standing next to him. His surprise quickly left him, though, and he grinned toothily. "Heh, perhaps you're getting lucky now, Mei…"

* * *

Sakura huffed angrily to herself, still disguised as Naruto, as she tried another store to buy clothes. "Why does everyone throw me out!?" She grumbled to herself. But she felt ill to her stomach as she walked down the streets, bearing all the glares directed at her.

'Why is everyone so angry at me? Naruto hasn't pulled any pranks long BEFORE he even left Konoha.' She glared right back at everyone, but felt miserable about it. 'Why is everyone so… Urgh!'

She walked into the next clothing store for Shinobi clothing. "Welcome to-" The happy expression of the woman greeting her turned into a mean sneer. "Oh, it's you. We don't sell your size here, ugly little shit. Get out."

Sakura's eyes almost fell out of her head at the open insult, but she clenched her fists. "W-what.. did you say?" She could barely contain her anger. 'Can't….. hurt…. civilians….'

"Get out. You're not welcome here." With that, the shop owner turned away and left Sakura standing in the entrance.

"The nerve…" Sakura turned around and headed for the next shop. 'Is this… is this what Naruto had to deal with? I would prank these people too, Shannaroo!' She turned her head and noticed a grocery shop. 'Perhaps clothing stores are a simple no-go for Naruto.'

'Naruto' approached the shop where a middle-aged guy was hanging up signs for sale outside the shop. As soon as he turned and noticed 'Naruto' approaching, he made a shooing motion with his hands. "Stay away, you'll make my goods rot!" He yelled.

Sakura froze, now certain everyone in Konoha simply HATED Naruto for his existence. Everyone…

Why?

"Why are you transformed into Naruto, Sakura? If you want to imitate him, you shouldn't wear so much of your perfume."

Sakura turned around to face Kiba, but didn't dispel her transformation. "K-Kiba…"

The dog-like boy, with Akamaru as always by his side, noticed the spooked expression on 'Naruto's' face. "W-what's wrong? It's really weird seeing Naruto with this expression, you know…"

It was then that something clicked in Sakura's mind. 'Naruto… He's always so happy and cheerful… So boisterous and energetic. How can he be like that if everyone hates him? Why… why does everyone hate him?'

"Why are you Henged into him, anyway? You should know better. You'll just feel bad." Kiba muttered. "Hell, it even makes me feel bad."

"… Why? Why does everyone-"

"I don't know." Kiba knew what she was going to ask and seemed to blame himself as he ruthlessly cut off Sakura. "I don't know, but I do know I was the same. I realized a long time ago that something's seriously wrong with how everyone's treating him here…"

"You knew?"

"Let's… let's go get some Ramen, Sakura." Kiba smiled unsure, looking like a beaten puppy. "I want to ask you something as well."

* * *

"Naruto… What are you doing here?" Zabuza wasn't too sure, he could still vividly remember the slaughtering of the Kiri ANBU months ago, but somehow he believed Naruto could kill everyone in the room here. 'That killing intent back then still amazes me a bit… A kid this young.'

Mei noticed how Zabuza had straightened his body immediately. 'This boy… Why is Zabuza so tense?' She narrowed her eyes at the blonde boy who had appeared out of nowhere. 'He wasn't summoned and you can't use Shunshin to get into this building… How did he get in here?' Something inside suddenly clicked and she remembered the boy. This was the same boy who warned her to go back to Kirigakure when the attack on Kumogakure happened during their Chuunin Exams. She had forgotten his name, though.

"Terumi-sama… What do we do?" Ao whispered. "I can't get a read on him, something's blocking my Byakugan…"

'Interesting, he can block the Byakugan's vision?' Mei motioned with her hands to stand down. 'It seems he isn't hostile, as Haku doesn't seem to be afraid of him… but he IS very wary.' She eyed Zabuza's back. 'The same could be said for him… Peculiar.'

"I'm going to the Land of Snow. My team might run into a few Shinobi able to use Hyouton Ninjutsu." Naruto answered casually, eyeing the rest of the room without too much care. 'He's in the middle of a meeting? I didn't know Zabuza had more people working with him. Or is Zabuza working for these people?' The blonde resisted the urge to use Senjutsu and get a read on how strong everyone here was. "How about it? Feel like cutting some Shinobi up?" He observed the small office they were in with his peripheral vision.

Zabuza narrowed his eyes in thought. 'Land of Snow? That seems like fun, actually. Just my kind of battle.' He considered the rebel faction behind him and how he actually wanted Kirigakure to go back to the way that it was. 'We could use Naruto as well here…'

"It doesn't sound like you truly need me there." Zabuza murmured. "Why?"

Naruto's eyes glinted in amusement. "You two are my comrades and I don't really know you that well yet. Snow might be... fun. But it seems like the two of you are busy here…"

Zabuza shot one glance over his shoulder to Mei, and Mei was surprised to see uncertainty on the Demon of the Mist's face. "We're going hunting. You interested in Bijuu?"

Naruto seemed interested. "Hm, Bijuu? According to my resources, didn't Kiri have the Sanbi? Is it free?"

"We don't know for sure. The Jinchuuriki might still be alive, but I say that's false hope." He shot a mild glare at Mei over his back again. "We're going to find out." He shot a serious look at Naruto. "I'm going to participate, definitely. I could use your help."

Mei narrowed her eyes. She was the one leading this operation and she wanted to say something, but… it seemed Zabuza really trusted this boy. They will have to speak about this later, when this boy wa-

"Sure! I'll help out! You'll have to brief me completely, though and I'm sure my team can help out too. Jiraiya's got nothing to do either, I'm sure…" He seemed deep in thought. "But my former team's going to depart from Konoha any day now. How about you help me out first, and then I'll help you out?"

'Jiraiya? As in… one of the legendary Sannin?' Mei thought, her hands becoming a bit sweaty. 'Who is this boy?'

"Haku, let's have some fun in Yukigakure." He grinned. 'With Naruto on our side, we just might be able to do things our way.'

"As you wish, Zabuza-sama."

"Wait." Mei's voice cut in. "I don't remember allowing you to recruit people out of the blue, Zabuza." She fixed both Zabuza and Naruto with a glare. "I won't allow things so easily. Who are you, Konoha Shinobi?"

* * *

Kiba and Sakura were both eating Ramen. Sakura had transformed back into herself, otherwise reactions at Ichiraku Ramen might be… weird. "A few months ago, me and the team were kinda talking about Naruto. I've been figuring things out about him since that time." Akamaru was outside the ramen stand, lying down on the ground and simply enjoying himself.

Sakura looked affronted to see that Kiba still hadn't learned manners. Really, talking with your mouth full of ramen? Even now as a Chuunin Kiba was still a little rude kid. She imagined Naruto the same.

"Heh, you're his teammate and you realized just today, right?" He continued, ignoring the aghast expression on the pink female.

"I'm not stupid, Kiba. Of course I knew Naruto wasn't really liked by many, but… I just always thought it was because of the pranks."

"…" He shot her an exasperated look, before shaking his head and sighing. "You know… I never really got along with that blonde dumbass, but I always remember my mom saying he's got it tough. Tougher than all of us. I never really understood why she said those things."

Sakura frowned, before she snorted. "Really? My mom always said to stay away from that nuisance. She always called him…" Her eyes suddenly widened. "a little monster."

"I'm not surprised. Us Inuzuka have advanced sense of smell, but our hearing's not exactly average either." Kiba boasted a bit. "I hear the villagers talking smack every now and then, but it took me a while to realize they were talking about him. They don't call him by his name, it's always brat, disgrace, mistake, monster or… demon brat." His expression darkened. "Akamaru can smell the amount of Chakra a person has, or just about. He was never really able to smell how much Naruto had in class during our academy days. And when he became Genin he wore that special outfit of his. Akamaru told me couldn't smell his Chakra, but he could smell Naruto's scent." He grimaced. "Hell, anyone can smell the Ramen on that guy."

The dog-like boy seemed to ponder on something for a bit. "I think something was blocking it, because Akamaru could only small a little Chakra around the guy. But during those Chuunin Exams where he kicked Sasuke's ass… Even I could tell he has a shitload of Chakra."

"Why are you bringing this up?"

"It just bothers me! That guy was the dead-last and then suddenly he beats Sasuke into the ground as if it's nothing! Even I can't do what he did against Sasuke! That means he's stronger than I am! He came to our sensei for help a long time ago and even then she confirmed that Naruto could be… talented." He snarled. "I never had anything against the guy, but when Shino and I became Chuunin and Kurenai took on another student… I just couldn't stop thinking about it. Especially since Kurenai seems to regret not helping Naruto back then."

"Well, why didn't she?" Sakura asked, politely continuing eating her ramen.

"She didn't have the time, but… I'm sure Naruto thought Kurenai-sensei was just like everyone else, that she hated his guts like everyone else!" He bumped his fist on the counter. "She isn't like that!"

Sakura had finished her bowl, but realised Kiba had stopped eating. "Kiba…" She was a bit surprised to see the Inuzuka actually upset.

"Look, I know I'm reading too much into this, but I just care about our team! Kurenai-sensei isn't shallow like that… Back when he was still in Konoha, you should have seen how Naruto acted against our team, like we were his enemy! We're not!" Kiba clenched his fists. "I'll show that prick we don't hate him!"

"… You really care, huh?"

Kiba's gaze softened. "… Imagine." He continued eating again. "I remember, you know? When I realised how much everyone hated him…" He didn't include the fact that it was Shino who pointed it out to him. "The teachers at the academy hated him. When I think about it, maybe it was the teachers' fault he was the dead-last. They never really paid any attention to him and always gave him detention, even when he didn't do anything wrong! I remember that the entire class just laughed at him… And everyone else hated him, too! You felt it too when you were transformed into him. Imagine!"

Sakura sighed, putting her chopsticks down.

"That was how he was treated all his life." He harshly spat out. "By idiots hating him for whatever reason… I know Naruto, he's not a bad guy! He's always been alone, never had parents or friends." He gritted his teeth in sympathy. "I don't want to be seen as someone who ALSO hated him. He… He's a good guy… a good guy." He clenched his fists. "I cannot imagine how tough he's had it."

"He… never did have anyone… did he?" Sakura stuttered, just now realizing Naruto had it tougher than anyone else.

Kiba's gaze hardened. "You were his team… but you guys treated him badly too, right? I know Sasuke did."

Sakura gulped in embarrassment. "I didn't really see him as a friend either. Kakashi-sensei was nice to him, though." She was thinking back to how Team 7 was born. "Yeah… I think Kakashi-sensei was nice to him." She wasn't too sure.

"This is what I mean." The Inuzuka grumbled. "I hate it. Deep down, I'm sure Naruto thinks we all hate him just like all the others. You should have seen the way he acted towards our team back then. That's why he gets along so well with those guys from Suna, I bet! He knows they don't hate him. But I think he thinks everyone in Konoha hates him… Maybe that's why he wants to be Hokage so much, so no one can hate him anymore!"

"When he comes back, we'll… we'll let him know how we feel." Sakura frowned, not really believing Naruto would think she hated him.

But then… Thinking back on how she had treated Naruto in the beginning, it might not be that far off the mark. She suddenly blinked as she remembered how she introduced herself to team Seven for the first time…

"_What I dislike is…. Naruto!"_

* * *

"You're not a Konoha Shinobi and I don't know you." Naruto's gaze had turned indifferent as he regarded the woman before him. Zabuza and Haku were unsure how to handle this. "I don't have to answer your questions."

"Be that as it may, you're not in Konoha now. You're in Kirigakure now and I am the Mizukage. Appearing like this in my office could be seen as an act of aggression, I could have you killed here and I would be well within my rights. Konoha won't even be able to go at war for that." She let that sink in, before continuing. "You've already agreed to help Zabuza, haven't you? Zabuza works for me." Mei answered with a glare matching Naruto's own.

Zabuza wanted to object, but stopped himself. It was in a way, true. And perhaps it would work.

"I trust Zabuza and I trust Haku." He glared at Mei. "That doesn't mean I trust whoever they work for. They were on the run for Kiri Oi-nin when I met them and they've worked for scum like Gato because it couldn't be helped. Who's to say you're not the same as that little midget?"

"Naruto, they were also Nuke-nin from Kiri." Zabuza chose to step in. "Kirigakure is now being run differently. Oi-nin are no longer after me."

"You trust them?" The blonde asked the Demon of the Mist.

"…" Zabuza turned to Mei and her two guards for a moment, before he grinned. "Yeah… I do."

Naruto still glared at them. He considered everyone and everything not loyal to Konoha an enemy, except for the people his future self had listed that could become his allies. With a sigh, he folded his arms. "Alright. Ask what you want, but I won't answer everything. Feel lucky I trust Zabuza and Haku."

'Feel lucky? Cheeky… Who does this boy think he is?' Mei thought in slight frustration. "Who are you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Mei clicked her tongue. "Uzumaki?" She snorted in amusement. "That extinct clan?"

"Not as extinct as you think." Came the instant rebuttal.

Mei thought the name to be a fake. "Fine, whatever."

Zabuza also thought a bit more on the name, since Naruto had actually become somewhat of a comrade to him now. 'Could it be he really is an Uzumaki? He doesn't look like one at all. But he IS proficient in Fuuinjutsu.' He eyed the blonde in curiosity. 'That could become really interesting.' He swiftly turned back to the conversation.

"This Jiraiya you spoke of, is he-"

"Yeah, yeah, one of the Legendary Sannin, blabla, just like Tsunade."

Mei didn't take well to being interrupted. "And Orochimaru."

"Yeah, that guy too, but he's dead." Naruto grinned. "So who are you?"

"… Terumi Mei. The Godaime Mizukage." She introduced. "You're not the only one not trusting people. I don't trust you either, Konoha-nin. YOU are the one who should feel lucky I trust Zabuza." The comment from before somehow still irked her.

Zabuza meanwhile glared at both of them. 'These guys must really like trusting me.'

Naruto chuckled. "I guess so. You think you can take down a Bijuu? With how many are you?" He showed his skepticism. "Tell me your plan."

"You're by yourself, in enemy territory, demanding things? I think you've been hit in the head a few times too many, boy. Who's to say you're not waiting to infiltrate Kirigakure?"

"Mei-" Zabuza tried to stop the conversation, but Naruto cut him off.

"Are you crazy? Zabuza and Haku are my friends. I will help them with anything."

Mei wasn't so easily convinced. "You do realize we can see you as a threat and deal with you easily here. Kiri and Konoha are not allies, you are in enemy territory and we are justified to deal with you like we deal with threats. You'd better stop playing games and be serious, child."

Naruto's gaze turned dead. "Deal with me… easily?"

"Mei. He's ok. He's with us, he is no threat." Zabuza quickly interrupted, before Naruto could go crazy. Or Mei, for that matter.

Mei sighed as she turned from Zabuza back to Naruto. "…It's impossible. He's a Konoha-nin, he's not allowed to act without permission of the Hokage. If you really want to help your friends, I suggest you take the request to your Hokage, boy." She considered him. "I've sent dozens of requests to several Shinobi Nations back when Kiri was still being ruled by the previous Mizukage. I've never received any answer. I trust things will stay that way. Go talk to your Hokage and see if I am right or not."

Naruto shrugged. "The old man? I'll see what I can do." He then turned to his two friends. "I'll be back in a day or two, ok? We're still finishing things somewhere else."

With that, Naruto flashed away just as easily as he appeared.

"It's exactly the same as before..." Ao whispered. "He simply… vanished?"

Mei's eyes narrowed momentarily as she heard Ao whisper. "Zabuza, who was that boy?"

"Hn. If I am considered the Demon of the Mist, he can be considered the Demon of Konoha, I suppose." Zabuza murmured more to himself than Mei. "Be careful, Mei. He eradicated two entire platoons of Kiri-ANBU in a matter of seconds. Before you were Mizukage, of course. It's best to deal with him as you deal with me. Don't piss us off."

Mei hardly believed a kid like that could be compared to Zabuza.

* * *

"How strong is he, really?"

"He's strong." Jiraiya casually answered Yamato. "I don't know exactly either, but he's Jounin material, definitely." Jiraiya wasn't going to tell this ANBU Member anything about Naruto. Naruto's secrets were his to keep.

Yamato sighed. "You spar with him, right? Perhaps I should spar with him, too."

"He knows the Hiraishin, Tenzo. I don't know if you noticed, but he doesn't like to flaunt his abilities. He'll just flash away from you."

"Maybe I'll ambush him disguised as a foreign nin." The temporary Jounin thought out loud. "That might prove interesting."

The two higher ranked Konoha-nin continued walking over the Great Bridge of Naruto, while Yamato thought back to Anko's description of her spar with Naruto.

_FLASHBACK_

"_So how do we do this?" Naruto questioned, holding out both his arms. "No rules?"_

_The purple-haired nodded. "No rules, all out."_

"_Alright, when do we start?"_

"_Now." Anko rushed forward, readying a Kunai to throw or stab, depending on Naruto's move. The blonde tilted his head and simply jumped backwards, in the same speed Anko was moving forward. Anko threw her Kunai, but Naruto easily dodged it by moving his upper body to the right a bit._

_She used Shunshin to appear above him and descended with an axe kick aimed for his head. Naruto pivoted around her entire attack and wanted to knee her in the side. The Jounin moved Naruto's knee away with her left upper arm and followed up with a punch to his face. _

_When Anko moved Naruto's knee away, it made it easier for him to dodge Anko's punch by just continuing the movement caused by Anko. He quickly performed handseals. "Fuuton, Jinpu no Yougeki!"_

_Anko quickly somersaulted away from Naruto and felt wind blasts pass her body. She wanted to close the distance between them again when she was hit by a Wind Blast in the back, followed by another one, sending her tumbling forward, straight into Naruto's right fist._

_But she grabbed his fist and pulled the blond towards herself. She headbutted the blonde in the forehead, but got enraged as the blonde puffed out of existence. "Kage Bunshin." She muttered, ignoring the burning sensation in the back the two wind blasts gave her. "Bastard was a clone the entire time. And he got the first hit in, even."_

"_It's annoying, right? When used small like that, Fuuton Ninjutsu can be tricky and undetectable by vision. It doesn't really pack a wallop, but every little thing counts in a battle."_

_She whipped her body around and instantly was upon him. They exchanged blows and kicks like before, but Anko came to a startling realization: Naruto was keeping up with her special Snake Taijutsu. She was quicker at times and she managed to even get past his guard, but the hits she gave him meant nothing, as she seemed to be fighting only Shadow Clones. When she popped one, another instantly appeared in the exact same spot. "Senei Jashu!" About twenty snakes came from Anko's right sleeve._

_Naruto jumped back, internally waging a war with himself to just let Kyuubi's Chakra burn those annoying snakes away or not. He didn't and simply moved behind Anko with a Jutsu ready. "Fuuton: Fuujin no Mae!"_

_She knew the Jutsu and knew what to do to avoid getting hit by the Wind Sickles sent at her. She withdrew her snakes first, turned to face Naruto and ducked low. Then she dashed forward, intent on slipping between the attacks and attacking the blonde while he was busy performing the Jutsu._

_As she was dashing, though, another Naruto appeared to her left, yelling out a Jutsu. "Fuuton, Reppuuken!"_

_She dodged to the side and again, another Naruto appeared with a Jutsu. "Fuuton, Renkuudan!"_

'_Shit, this guy can really spam clones…' Anko thought in frustration as she dodged again. 'And I don't even know which one is the real one, if he's even here.'_

"_Katon, Ryuuka no Jutsu!" Anko used her hand in front of her mouth to aim the Fire Dragon Attack at all the Wind Jutsu being performed, creating a massive firestorm. She hoped this would deal with the Shadow Clones, but they were all smart enough to back off._

"_It's good to see you don't just throw your Kage Bunshin at your enemy, kid." Anko praised as the fire and smoke was gone and three Narutos were staring at her. "Let me guess, the real one isn't any of you?"_

_They all shrugged. "Heh, that's for you to find out." One let out._

"_You're a Jounin, right? I expected more." Another grinned, clearly taunting._

"_Hey, I'm sure she's not going all out." The third argued to the second. He then considered Anko rather dryly. "At least I hope not."_

'_He's pretty good… I didn't expect him to fight so cleverly with Bunshin.' With insane speed, she shunshined behind all three of them at almost the exact same time and wasn't surprised to see all of them get dispelled. "Your Kage Bunshin won't get the job done, brat. Only the real you might get shit done."_

"_Your Taijutsu is pretty annoying." Naruto appeared in front of her. "I'm the real one, I won't use clones anymore. Instead… I'll use Fuuinjutsu to bring you down."_

"_Hooo… I like a man who's confident." She licked her lips in anticipation as Naruto unraveled scrolls around his entire body. "I've never really fought a Fuuinjutsu user before."_

"_You're going to regret it." Naruto confidently stated as his two scrolls slammed and cut into the ground. Symbols flew down the scrolls in rapid fashion and Anko couldn't understand any of it. But it didn't matter, she was going to show this boy how out of his league he actually was._

_But when she took one step, she realized how dangerous Naruto could be. She was quick enough to jump away from the explosion, but when she about to land again, she saw how the ground crumbled into nothingness. 'He created a hole just like that…' Using wires, she threw a kunai at a tree and brought herself to safety._

_Only, the tree quickly got surrounded by the same scrolls Naruto had just sent into the ground. 'Well, shit. Now what?'_

_A dozen Fireballs came from the scrolls and were shot at her. 'That's Housenka no Jutsu! And it comes from a scroll?' She managed to use Kawarimi, but no matter where she escaped to, there was always one of the two scrolls sending Jutsu at her. 'But what a weak Fire Jutsu… He must not have a Fire Affinity…' She took a few seconds to think about a strategy. 'Those scrolls contain Jutsu in them and he can activate them from a distance… How, with a flick of Chakra?' She dared a glance at Naruto only to see scroll whirling around him, this one red. She also realized this one was longer than the other two._

'_He's a big unknown. I can't get close with Jutsu flying all around me.'_

_Naruto considered the dodging Jounin with a serious gaze. 'She's quick and smart. Her reflexes might be better than mine, even.' He had sent the red scroll into the ground, towards Anko and another scroll was in the ground around him, just in case the Jounin managed to get close to him._

_The first two scrolls he had used and now withdrawn were a Doton scroll and a Katon scroll. The Doton one contained the Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu, Doton: Doryou Dango and Doton: Doroku Gaushi. The Katon one held Katon: Bakufuu no Jutsu, Katon: Baisuu Keiyu and Katon: Housenka no Jutsu. The scrolls weren't long and they had to stay attached to the soles of his feet. They constantly needed his Chakra to move. With Usage of Kage Bunshin he could use more scrolls, but he wasn't using clones at the moment._

_So when he started using the red scrolls, he had detached the Doton and Katon ones. "Be careful, Anko-san… You might abruptly lose this spar."_

_The red scroll held four Jutsu, explaining why it was longer than the other two scrolls. But the Jutsu were special, they were all Kuchiyose. One was for a Toad, another for a Hawk, the third for himself and the fourth for six Explosive Kage Bunshin. They were all trap-based seals, meaning they were set off by disturbance. Naruto's Chakra was coursing through the scrolls, but should Anko touch the scroll by accident, it would disrupt the flow, causing panic and thus activation._

_The red scroll was moving underground, all around Anko. Naruto smirked as he had actually secured the ground almost completely. Even if she did accidentally cause the summon seals for Gamaken or Takaryui, she would be caught off guard enough for either him or the summon to make a move. _

_He hoped she wouldn't accidentally activate the Explosive Shadow Clones seal…_

'_Maybe it wasn't smart to play this move.' The blonde thought to himself as Anko sat perched on a tree branch, knowing that the red scroll was slithering in the sand._

_His defensive scroll was also slithering underneath him. That one held only two Jutsu, but it was long because its purpose was to defend the user all around. It was a Fuuton Scroll, containing Fuuton: Haisou no Jutsu for escape purposes and Fuuton: Gufuu no Jutsu to surround him with a small tornado made with vicious cutting Wind Chakra. _

"_I noticed you haven't moved from your spot." Anko grinned as she fingered a few Kunai. "Let's see why that is…"_

_Naruto chuckled to himself as he could always activate the scrolls by himself. Therefore, pouring Chakra into his defensive Fuuton scroll, the Gufuu no Jutsu easily dealt with Anko's approaching weapons. _

"_Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!" Anko blew out several Fire blasts towards Naruto, having realized he had a Wind Defense around himself._

_But Naruto calmly activated the Kyuuka seal and simply absorbed the Fire Chakra in Anko's Fire attack. _

'_What the…?' Anko didn't understand. This kid was just full of surprises. 'That red scroll he sent into the ground made him more confident. He's got some sort of Fuuton Ninjutsu protection around himself AND he's immune to Fire Jutsu?' She started to ponder. 'What else can I do?'_

"_Giving up?"_

_Anko simply chuckled. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"_

_Two huge snakes rampaged through the ground towards the blonde, but the blonde didn't seem afraid. Instead, he flicked some Chakra to the red scroll in the ground and out came a hawk bigger than both snakes. Anko's mouth dropped open as the Hawk grabbed one of the snakes and flew off. _

_She was standing on the other snake's head and had to jump off because Naruto had just finished a few handseals. "Fuuton: Fuujin no Mae!"_

_Anko was pissed to see her other snake get cut to pieces. Her summon got killed and she landed on the ground a few feet away from Naruto. That was when six Narutos appeared around her and she instantly recognized the way Chakra was being gathered in them. 'Fuck, you're kidding m-'_

_Naruto winced at the explosion. "Man, my red scroll is useless now… " Of course, the explosion rendered the scroll useless._

_It seemed Anko had managed to use Kawarimi, but she didn't come out of that explosion unscathed. The moment she appeared behind Naruto with a Kunai to his neck was the moment she was sent skyward because of Naruto's defensive scroll's Jutsu Fuuton: Haisou no Jutsu._

_Squinting his eyes to see Anko up in the air, he saw her use Kuchiyose again and this time she summoned a bigger snake than the two from before. 'She'll land safe like that, don't have to use the Air Cushion Technique.' But as Anko and her snake were descending, Naruto saw that his Hawk Summon, Takaryui, had dropped the snake somewhere and was on his way back. 'I can't really signal him from here… Hmm… She's screwed.'_

_Anko thought the same thing as Naruto's hawk was approaching her rapidly._

_And then Naruto appeared on top the Hawk's head with an apologetic smile aimed at both the hawk and Anko. "Takaryui, this is just a spar, let's go down. Help them, too."_

_Anko sighed as she had horribly lost this spar. 'Man… I didn't even touch him.' She took a look at Naruto as he was seated on the Hawk's head. 'He knows some crazy shit… No wonder Hokage-sama gave me this mission.'_

_END FLASHBACK_

* * *

A man with shoulder-length black-hair wearing a dark Chakra Armor was walking through a train corridor followed by three subordinates.

"We've arrived, Doto-sama." One of his subordinates said. "Everything's ready."

As Doto opened the door to imminent massacre, he couldn't wait to show his newly created weapon to those meddling Konoha-nin protecting Koyuki. "Ready the weapons, those fools are in sight."

Roga motioned to one of the henchmen working the machine on the side of the train they were all on to start spinning the device that would launch hundreds of spears at the enemy.

Mad laughter escaped Doto's mouth as he watched his weapon at work. "Fools! To dare stand in my way!"

And then the snow itself rose towards the sky, protecting his enemies from his weapons. "What?!"

Even Roga, Fubuki and Mizore seemed surprised. They stared at it for a while, before Doto yelled out. "You fools! Do something about that!"

And then a blonde kid appeared in mid-air in front of them, wielding a very dangerous looking, huge Chakra Shuriken. 'That's insane! So much Chakra!' Roga, who had light blue hair worn in a long ponytail, quickly warned his comrades. "Spread out! That attack is too powerful!"

* * *

Seconds earlier…

"Damn, it's cold…" Naruto shivered as he had appeared close to Kakashi's Chakra Signature. He could control his Hiraishin so perfectly now he didn't have to appear so close to the target. He and his team had appeared on a mountain overlooking a big clearing and a train seemed to be coming from inside the mountain they were standing on.

Jiraiya, Naruto, Gaara, Zabuza, Haku and Tayuya all looked intrigued as a big massive train came out of the mountain.

"Why the fuck did you bring me to this cold shithole? To see a fucking train?!" Sure she hadn't seen one ever before and neither had the others, save for maybe Jiraiya, but that wasn't a good enough reason to be here. Tayuya frowned as the Shinobi and… samurai close to the train seemed to ready themselves. "Hmm, seems like whoever's on that train is an enemy to your team, Uzumaki."

"Yeah, I noticed." Naruto wasn't sure how to proceed when the train stopped right in front of his old team and a big group of samurai. But then he saw how sections of the train opened up to reveal weapons… "Gaara!"

The red-haired Jinchuuriki knew what to do. 'It's heavier because of the snow… But I'll manage.'

The cannons carrying spears, kunai, shuriken and whatnot were fired at Kakashi, his team and the samurai. Hundreds of weapons were launched at them and all they could do was watch… watch how a massive wall of sand and snow rose to the sky and protected them.

"Sabaku no Tate."

Naruto sighed in relief as Kakashi's clients were saved. He didn't know much of the mission so he had to ask his previous Jounin sensei. "Nice, Gaara! Although, didn't you already have a technique called Sabaku no Tate?"

Gaara shook his head once. "You mean Suna no Tate, my automatic defense when the Gogyou Fuuin is lifted. This is a new one, the Desert Shield." He frowned shortly. "Although Snow Desert Shield would perhaps be more appropriate here."

And then they all used Shunshin to get to Kakashi's team.

"… I see." Was how Kakashi greeted them. He couldn't have saved all the samurai in time, so he was thankful to whoever had saved them. Now he saw it was Gaara who had performed this enormous technique.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled enthusiastically.

"Hn, dobe."

"…." Naruto wasn't surprised Sai stayed silent.

"Jiraiya-sama. Perhaps having you here is a bit… too much." Kakashi reasoned. Sure, the mission would be hard with the Jounin-ranked enemies they were having, but he was sure they could handle it. And then he noticed the others. He stood shocked when he noticed someone in particular. "… Zabuza?"

Kakashi wasn't briefed at all on how Naruto's team would back them up.

"Hehe, I see the old man hasn't told you anything. We already knew of Shinobi being active in Snow, so Sarutobi-sensei thought it'd be safe to send us here, too." Jiraiya explained. "So what are you facing?" The sound of the cannons still being fired was heard on the other side of the Snow Wall.

"We're facing three Shinobi, two high-Chuunin level, one high-Jounin. I remember them from a mission long ago, back when I was still in ANBU. The leader is Nadare Roga, the others are Fubuki and Mizore. But they can't be the only ones."

"I'll destroy the train." Naruto let out coldly as a Rasengan came to life in his palm. "Firing something like that at my comrades. Unforgivable."

They all couldn't stop him as he Shunshined away. Jiraiya slapped his forehead with his palm. "Here we go. He always goes out without a plan." He turned to Kakashi as Gaara followed after Naruto. "Where's your client?"

"She ran off, we gathered here because we heard the train coming." The copycat relayed. "The cold is interfering with my ability to track scents. Perhaps we should split up, one team dealt with the enemy, the other finds Koyuki and takes her to safety."

Jiraiya nodded. "Your team finds Koyuki, my team doesn't know what she looks like anyway. We'll deal with the enemy."

* * *

On the other side of the Snow Wall, Naruto unleashed his RasenShuriken on the train, nothing being able to stop it. In seconds, the train was no more and the Shinobi on it were smart enough to get away from the massive blast.

Naruto landed in front of the trio of Shinobi, while Gaara materialized next to him from sand. "Sorry about your train." Naruto harshly let out. "But you're going to die here."

Gaara had his arms folded and frowned when the trio just chuckled.

"Two little kids? You think you can take care of us?" Fubuki, the pink-haired girl with her hair in pigtails let out.

"Fubuki, one of them destroyed our train with a high-leveled Jutsu, don't underestimate them!" Roga, their leader let out.

"Their outfits, they're special." Gaara muttered.

Before any of them could blink, Naruto had appeared behind the fat Mizore and simply sliced him in half with his Eigo Kaiki. "Not that special." Blood splattered left and right, but Naruto made sure nothing hit him.

Nadare and Fubuki quickly backed off after that movement, shocked at how easily Mizore got killed.

"Jump around all you want." Naruto coldly let out. "You'll die just as easily as him."

* * *

Jiraiya's eyes widened at how coldly Naruto killed a man. He and the others had followed after Naruto and were amazed at how Naruto completely decimated the train with one Jutsu.

Zabuza chuckled as he saw Naruto slice a fatty in half in a second. "I don't know why he brought us here." He murmured to Haku. "He looks like he can take care of things himself."

Haku had simply grimaced at how easy killing came to Naruto.

Tayuya had witnessed sights far more gruesome than this. She actually liked it.

Jiraiya frowned as, in the midst of the debris Naruto's Rasenshuriken created, he suddenly heard a weird buzzing sound. Tayuya, Haku and Zabuza all copied the frown when they saw a weird device, which before was part of the train, fly. "Allow me." Zabuza grinned, falling into a sprint. "Haku, let's go."

* * *

They watched the blonde not react at all to the flying machine behind him. Roga saw how two Shinobi quickly dashed towards the small flying train and managed to cling to it by use of Chakra. 'Doto should be fine by himself. He's stronger than us, after all.' He turned back to his current opponents and fought the urge to simply flee.

How had the blonde taken down Mizore so easily? Their armor was supposed to negate Chakra, why didn't it work against that sword of his?

"Roga… I think we should retreat. These kids aren't normal." Fubuki had her wings on her back flexed. "I don't think we can handle speed and power like that kid has." She sure was singing a different tune than before.

"I don't think they'll let us go that easily, Fubuki." He clenched his fists. "We underestimated them. Let's take them seriously now." He performed a few handseals. "Hyouton, Akaka Achure!"

Naruto and Gaara both calmly looked up when a huge one-horned whale made out of ice descended towards them. Gaara held up his hands to stop it with his sand but couldn't as Fubuki came rushing at him. Gaara grinned at the girl and skidded backwards, hoping the flying girl would follow him. He had some time to play, anyway.

Naruto instead looked up at the descending whale and performed a few handseals. The sword in his hands vanished the minute he did so. "Fuuton, Haisou no Jutsu!" He needed to pour quite a lot of Chakra in the 'Take Flight' Technique that would, using Wind Chakra, send the massive Ice Whale skyward.

Nadare's eyes widened as Naruto sent the whale flying up in the air as if he was casually throwing away a Kunai. 'H-how?'

"What else? Show me everything you've got, enemy of Konoha!"

'Enemy of Konoha?' Roga thought in slight fear. This opponent, he was more dangerous than Kakashi. "I am no enemy of Konoha, boy. I just need the woman you're protecting!" He glared as Jiraiya suddenly appeared beside the boy.

"Naruto, I'll handle him. You go back up Zabuza and Haku." The Toad Sage ordered.

Naruto regarded his former teacher. "Alright, Jiraiya-sama. But this guy deserves to die for unleashing those cannons…" He watched sideways to see Gaara playing with his opponent and rolled his eyes. 'Why does Gaara always do that?'

The blonde then sprinted after Zabuza and Haku.

Tayuya had her arms folded as she slowly approached Jiraiya from behind. "No way I'm fighting in this cold weather!" Tayuya shivered. "Why do I still have to go everywhere he goes?" She said to no one in particular, referring to Naruto.

"Because Konoha doesn't quite trust you yet." Jiraiya answered calmly. "Although I have to say Naruto trusts you already, it seems. Did he teach you some of his special Jutsu yet? You know, the tracking kind?"

"Yeah, some." Tayuya answered unsurely. "He's an idiot."

But Jiraiya could tell Tayuya didn't mean it. 'Heh, the kid's got some charm to him, I guess.' He then stared at the body sliced up in half on the ground. 'But perhaps he's bit too coldhearted.'

Meanwhile, Roga was in a whole other world. 'D… Did that kid just call this guy Jiraiya-sama?' After realizing he was way out of his league, he simply bowed to his opponent and admitted defeat. "I surrender, I have no hope of victory nor do I see any chance of escape here."

"Good choice, kid." Jiraiya said from behind the man as he knocked him out cold. He then used Shunshin and knocked the girl Gaara was fighting out with a chop to the neck.

The sand user seemed quite upset. "Why did you do that?"

"These two have a Kekkai Genkai, they can use Hyouton Ninjutsu." He offered Gaara, who still looked at the girl like he wanted to kill her, a dull look. "They might be useful to Konoha. And these two only seemed to be following orders. Drop the Killer Intent, Gaara."

"Uzumaki-taichou told you to kill your enemy, or did I not hear correctly?"

Jiraiya sighed dramatically. "Look, I'm taking these two captive. And I don't follow Naruto's orders anyway. I'm his teacher, remember?"

"He will be upset." The redhead pointed out.

The older man lifted the girl over his shoulder and slowly started walking towards Fubuki. "He can be upset all he wants, but you know as well as I do that these two aren't strong enough to worry about. And they truly might mean something to Konoha. We'll first get all the secrets about their special armor and their bodies might also contain secrets." He then waved over his shoulder. "Go help Naruto out or something."

Gaara sighed and looked at Tayuya, who simply shrugged.

* * *

Doto didn't care how explosions rocked throughout the small airship as he steered it away from the battles below. "Konoha, such scum. Always meddling in other people's affairs."

"Doto-sama!"

The man turned away from the controls of the ship and saw one of his subordinates crash in the room he was in.

"There's a -pant-! There's a demon on the ship! And someone who can use Hyouton! They're strong, you need to-"

He was cut off as Doto sliced his head off with a well-placed Ice Sword Release. "Fool, and you led them straight to me?" He put his right hand on his chest and performed a handseal with his other hand. "Kai!"

With that, all the Chakra he had stored up for the last few days surrounded him and made his suit more versatile. "Let's see how strong this…demon… is, then."

And then everything exploded. The entire airship erupted into fire and Doto barely managed to escape to the outside. Once outside and descending rapidly, he performed a few handseals and used Ice to descend at a safer pace. He watched how two Shinobi about half a mile away from him did the same.

Haku transported both him and Zabuza safely to the ground by creating a Ice Slide.

The ship was all explosions in the sky and Doto watched how all the remaining members on the ship simply fell to their doom. He wouldn't even lift a finger to save them. 'Those useless weak fools.'

As he landed on the ground, he found himself surrounded by trees. And then… he was surrounded by thick mist, he couldn't even see the tree that was right in front of him anymore!

"This is… Kirigakure no Jutsu." Doto murmured softly. "I'm facing a silent killer, then?"

"Hoo? You're not afraid of the Silent Killing Method?" Came a booming voice from all around him. "Haku, allow me to have some fun with my prey."

* * *

"We'll continue the mission."

Jiraiya nodded to Kakashi. "Naruto will send these two to Konoha's interrogation department. He's got a Space-Time Fuuin Seal set up in one of the cells there, specifically for cases like this."

Naruto, who was standing beside the tall man, frowned at him. "Why should I? These two deserve to be killed." Behind Naruto, Gaara agreed with a single nod. "The only thing of value they possess is that suit they're wearing."

Roga and Fubuki were still out cold at Jiraiya's feet. "I told you, brat. Konoha has never had an Hyouton users, these two might change that. Afterwards, perhaps, we can kill them. But to be honest, they just followed their leader's orders."

"How can you be so casual about this?" Naruto was dead serious. "These two tried to kill Kakashi-sensei and the others!"

"Do you really think Kakashi would fall for something like a thousand Kunai flying straight for him? Even his Genin wouldn't have had any trouble with it." Jiraiya folded his arms. "Just perform the Fuuin, Naruto. I'll ask the old man to keep us up to date about these two, ok?"

"Tcheh." Naruto poured some Chakra in his left pinky and a small purple seal tag appeared in his hand. After that, he performed a few handseals and held up both his hands in front of him, fingers all touching each other and the seal tag between his hands. "Jikukan Kekkai!"

Jiraiya picked up both Roga and Fubuki before he threw them at Naruto. The moment they almost touched Naruto, was the moment they got sucked into a Space-Time Barrier.

Kakashi was surprised. "Your Fuuinjutsu is improving. I remember that the Fourth Hokage was also able to use that Jutsu."

Jiraiya simply winked at the Copycat. "Kakashi, I'm training the brat so hard he'll surpass Minato in no time."

"I'm sure." Kakashi agreed. At the moment, only he, Jiraiya, Naruto and Gaara were seated in the midst of all the debris of the train Naruto had demolished. The blonde had already sent Tayuya back to the rest of his team and Haku and Zabuza wanted to travel back to Kiri by themselves. Kakashi's Genin were watching over Koyuki and the others.

Naruto was a bit miffed that Zabuza had cut his opponent up in too many pieces. The Chakra Armor that leader was wearing could have been useful.

* * *

"You know… They seemed pretty down when they got back."

"Who did?"

The old man took the duo in front of him in as best as he could.

Naruto was wearing the standard Konoha Chuunin Uniform, just with different colors. Where the outfit was usually green, his was dark grey. A Chuunin Uniform had many pockets, but Naruto's had even more. He even had a belt slung over his right shoulder that was connected to another belt around his waist. Both belts also held extra pockets. The Sandaime was sure all those pockets had a meaning.

When the blonde had walked in, he was shocked to see he had the exact same haircut Minato used to have. But, looking at the picture he had of Minato in his office, he realized Naruto's hair was slightly longer.

Under the right corner of the blonde's right eye, there was small, tilted mark, Kanji for 'Offspring.' It looked like a scar, but it had the color of a recent wound. 'It seems his friend Sabaku no Gaara is rubbing off on him.'

Jiraiya looked the same as always, except… he looked more, dare he say it, youthful. 'Interesting.'

"Team Kakashi." The old man answered. "You barely talked to them in Snow, it seems."

"I was also pretty down I never got to talk to that gorgeous Koyuki-hime!" Jiraiya whined like a little child, before turning to Naruto. "We're going to return there soon! She owes us a 'Thank You' at the very least!" He yelled, cheeks perversely tinted. Sadly for him, both Naruto and Jiraiya ignored him.

Naruto shrugged. "There was no time for pleasantries. There were enemies and they had a mission to accomplish, right?" Naruto's eyes suddenly changed in intensity. "Speaking of enemies…"

"Ah, yes, those two Hyouton users you brought in." He murmured thoughtfully. "They're still under the watchful eyes of the ANBU, but Morino Ibiki has spoken to them both already. But just once, which is not nearly enough. If his schedule allows it, Yamanaka Inoichi will soon pay them a visit as well. When he's done with them, we'll truly know if they can be useful to Konoha."

Naruto wanted to say more but snorted when Jiraiya put his hand on the blonde's shoulder. "You've read our request, sensei?" The toad sage asked, changing the subject.

"Kirigakure, huh? I've learned matters are resolved, but they've lost their Jinchuuriki. Now a Bijuu runs amok across their lands, or seas." Hiruzen opened a scroll on his desk with a map of the Water Country. "I have to say I'm surprised they requested your assistance, Naruto-kun. I know you have allied yourself with Momochi Zabuza, but that was before he became a Kiri-nin once again. Surely you realize we are not in alliance with Kirigakure?"

"Old man, that woman told me you've denied their request for support, is that true?"

"A civil war is a civil war, outsiders have no business interfering in a matter that should be resolved from within." Hiruzen answered tiredly. "It would have made matters worse, for both Kiri and Konoha. We have our own matters to attend to, after all. All classified." The old man grinned as he already answered Naruto's next obvious question.

"But I want to help them, I promised Zabuza!"

Interlacing his fingers and resting his elbows on the desk, the Third leaned forward. "This could be interesting, though. The new Mizukage, her name is Terumi Mei? And she wants to see if the Sanbi Jinchuuriki is still alive inside of the Bijuu?" He shook his head in bewilderment. "It is highly unlikely Yagura is still alive."

"Yagura?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, the previous Sanbi Jinchuuriki. He was also the Yondaime Mizukage." Jiraiya answered easily before the Sandaime could. "He was a good kid… or young man. But all of a sudden he changed into a tyrant. He was the one responsible for the Bloodline Purges. But the kid I knew from back then would never even think of doing something so… foul."

"Indeed." Hiruzen nodded. "It is assumed nationwide that he was an imposter or that he was being controlled. But then, who is powerful enough to be able to control a Jinchuuriki Kage?" The aging leader clapped his hands, feeling a bit excited. "You'll have two missions, Naruto-kun!"

The moment Naruto had entered the Third's office, he had immediately instilled the entire office with Silencing Seals, not letting even a single sound escape from the office.

"First, you'll help the Mizukage, useless as her crusade will be. She will owe you and in turn, Konoha. You'll take Jiraiya, Tsunade and Sabaku no Gaara with you. The four of you should be enough to deal with the Sanbi."

"What?! Tsunade?! Why-"

Hiruzen cut him off. "Secondly, you will capture Uchiha Itachi."

Naruto was silenced instantly. He thought back on the time where the Uchiha had used the Tsukiyomi on him and clenched his fists in determination. 'His plan was good, but now I have my own… Itachi, I'll tell you, I have my answer now.'

"Itachi? Why?" Jiraiya asked seconds later.

"I need to speak to that boy… and soon." The Hokage only seemed to confuse Jiraiya further.

* * *

When Zabuza threw the special Kunai into the wall to her left, Mei was only slightly surprised to see Naruto materialize out of thin air seconds later.

"You sure took your time." Naruto whispered, his body slightly cringing. Travelling so far away with the Hiraishin always left his body slightly cold. "Did you just get back?"

The Mizukage coughed once, already glaring at the blonde. "You're not one for subtlety or politeness, are you, Uzumaki Naruto?" Mei still seemed unimpressed as she stared at the boy. 'Still, that was definitely the Hiraishin…' She analyzed the boy in front of her a bit more. 'And if memory serves correctly, he does look quite similar the Yellow Flash, doesn't he? But he said his name is Uzumaki, not Namikaze…'

Naruto only glared back for half a second, before realizing she was right."… I apologize, Mizukage-sama. Both for now and for my behavior three weeks ago. I wasn't thinking straight and I didn't really know where Zabuza had summoned me back then." He bowed shortly. "I know now."

With her glare gone, she regarded him with open interest. Behind her, Ao and Choujuro were openly tense. It was strange how this boy could enter the Mizukage's office so easily, after all. And he didn't even look scared at all being outnumbered five to one. Zabuza and Haku were casually talking to each other, though… "Are you sure your name is not Namikaze?"

Naruto frowned, but on the inside he had fought back a massive flinch. "Namikaze?" He repeated. "Who's that?"

The red-haired Mei chuckled shortly. "Please, don't take me for a fool, Konoha Chuunin. The Jutsu you used is a feared one across all nations, the Hiraishin no Jutsu. The distance between Kiri and Konoha is great and yet you sport no outside exhaustion from having used the Hiraishin for it. Even I know you need great stamina for the Hiraishin." She narrowed her eyes. "You seem plenty proficient in the Jutsu without being related to the Yondaime Hokage."

"Oh, Namikaze?" Naruto feigned innocence. "Let's just say I have extraordinary stamina, both physical and Chakra-wise. The Hiraishin seems made for me!" He grinned at her, before continuing in a more professional way. "Anyway, Hokage-sama has approved of my request."

This surprised Mei somewhat. She never expected that the leader of Konoha would indulge her. "Your Hokage, is Sarutobi Hiruzen, correct?" With Naruto's nod, he continued. "What exactly did he allow you?"

"I'm going to grab a scroll from one of my pockets. No funny business, you have my word." Naruto said, really informing the guards behind the Mizukage. The guards did nothing to ease up their body stance, making the blonde sigh. He handed the scroll over to Mei and watched her unravel it.

"… You think I believe this? Is this a prank, Chuunin?" She spat out as she finished reading it. "Is your leader mocking us?" She held her anger somewhat in check as she rose from her seat and slightly towered over Naruto. Zabuza and Haku seemed unsure of what to do.

"… I don't understand your reaction, Mizukage-sama." The blonde bowed once. "There is a Sarutobi blood sign at the bottom of the scroll. It holds no lies."

Moving her eyes back to the scroll, Mei wasn't convinced at all. "So you're saying Konoha is sending me two of their best?" It could even be considered an act of war sending powerhouses like those two here, but she wasn't thinking of that.

Naruto nodded. "By your permission, only."

Mei remained standing as she nodded at the blonde, still a bit unsurely. "Go ahead. This I want to see."

"I'll be back in ten minutes. Those two are a pain in the ass sometimes. No, all three of them are, actually." With one nod, he vanished.

"What is wrong, Mizukage-sama?" Ao asked as soon as the blonde left. "What has you so… angry?" In truth, the elite Jounin wasn't so sure whether it was anger, trepidation or… confusion he was seeing in his leader.

"Oh I'm not angry, Ao… Not yet." She coldly replied.

Zabuza and Haku remained standing, unsure of what to do now. "Ah, Mei? Permission to be excused?" The Demon of the Mist tried, but her glare told him her answer to that.

"Mizukage-sama." Haku tried. "Naruto-kun won't let you down. He's saved us, too, in the past. Two times, even."

Choujuro was holding his sword and was slightly trembling, because Mei was upset. Mei was rarely upset. This blonde boy would pay for that!

But all of her anger and whatnot was washed away completely when what was written on the scroll was proven true. Naruto had reappeared in her office, with Tsunade, Jiraiya and Gaara by his side.

"… You were serious." Mei softly breathed out. "Why… why would he send you? Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama?"

The entire room was breathless for a few seconds. Two of the three Sannin were all of a sudden standing in the office.

Tsunade clapped a hand on the blonde kid's shoulder between her and Jiraiya. "The old man likes this kid! You're very lucky!" But the grip on Naruto's shoulder was kind of painful, Mei noted.

* * *

The Mizukage had many of her trusted soldiers around her as she led Jiraiya and the others to an island west of Kirigakure. They were with a troop of about a hundred men, all ranked at least Jounin, while Jiraiya was squinting his eyes and staring out into the sea. "I don't sense anything out there…"

Naruto walking up to him. "Perhaps we should go Toad, eh?" He whispered, nudging the older man in the side with his elbow. "You don't have to be ashamed anymore about your looks now?"

"Shut up." Jiraiya shoved the blonde lightly aside. "And you shouldn't, remember?"

The blonde shrugged. "You know, I can't wait until the cat is out of the bag. Right, Gaara?"

"Today's performance will surely change things." The redhead responded as he joined the duo on the edge of the cliff. "Hokage-sama's orders were to go out big, right?" Gaara sighed as he rubbed his stomach once. "Shukaku says he wants to do it himself… He says the Sanbi was always an easy target."

Naruto offered him a deadpan stare. "And he isn't?"

"He resents you for that." Gaara relayed dully.

"Mei told me to tell you guys to get ready, they have a Jutsu that can lure the Sanbi to us." Tsunade gave them all an unimpressed stare. "I see you guys are lazing about as usual." She glared at Naruto. "Hey, you little weasel, you and I still have unfinished business! When this mission is over we need to talk! Don't flash away like a coward!"

"But… You just want to beat me up!" Naruto pointed a finger at her. "I'm telling you, the way you healed Shizune, that's for future references!"

"I owe you some punches, kid." Tsunade threatened. "Shizune could have died."

"But she didn't!"

"You need to learn something! You can't just experiment on people like that!"

"It wasn't an experiment! I knew you would be able to heal her!"

"How? How could you have known?" The blonde woman was dead serious. "There's no way you COULD have!" She answered after no reply was given. "You experimented on both me and Shizune! I'm going to teach you a lesson about that."

"Quiet down, already!" Naruto, Tsunade and Gaara turned to see Jiraiya in Senjutsu Mode. "Your bickering is getting old! The kid is sorry, alright, Tsunade-hime?"

"Not sorry enough!" But she was switching subjects already. "Did you advance in the Toad Arts, Jiraiya? You don't look so ugly anymore!"

"Yeah, I'm awesome like that!" He turned away from them and stared into the distance. "He's coming. Let's do our thing!"

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Three voices chorused, while a fourth yelled out. "Henzuru!"

Tsunade had summoned Katsuyu, Jiraiya had summoned GamaBunta and GamaHiro and Gaara had transformed into the Shukaku, while still remaining in control.

Naruto had poured a great amount Chakra in his Birds of Prey Fuuin Summoning Seal and summoned two bosses of the Bird Kingdom…

* * *

Mei, Ao and Choujuro all looked completely astounded when the smoke cleared away and six massive beasts stood in the sea, awaiting the arrival of the Sanbi. "Ah.. Mizukage-sama… I don't think we can… lose…?" Ao managed to stutter.

"Yeah…" Mei agreed. "I didn't expect them to pull out something like that."

Zabuza and Haku, with two other Swordsmen of the Mist behind them, were also quite shocked at the sight, but not as much as Mei and the others. Or as much as the hundred Kiri-nin awaiting battle behind the Mizukage. "That brat sure makes things interesting, huh, Haku?"

"Yes, yes he does."

The Swordsmen behind Zabuza and Haku were Kushimaru and the only female of the legendary group, Ameyuri. They were just being silent, but you could see their bodies were quite tense.

* * *

Tsunade stood proudly on top of Katsuyu, her arms folded and ready for a fierce battle.

Jiraiya was seated, legs crossed, on top GamaBunta, while scribbling something down in what seemed like a notebook. GamaHiro stood by his fellow toad's side, two swords ready.

Gaara, in Shukaku Form, was busy looking all around him. He never would get used at seeing things around him so small, but he did like it.

And Naruto had created a Senjutsu Bunshin. He himself was also in Senjutsu Mode. He was too far and too high up for anyone to notice, anyway. His Clone was standing on the head of **Kokato**, a massive Cockatrice. It had massive wings, the body and back legs of a reptile and the head and front legs were that of a rooster.

The real Naruto was standing on **Guri**, a huge Griffin. It also had massive wings, but it had the head of an eagle and the body of a lion.

Tsunade was gobsmacked when she turned and saw the two massive monsterbirds. "Where did he get the contract for… What contract is that?!"

"The legendary Birds of Prey…" Jiraiya murmured to the wind. "Someday you'll explain to me how you got a hold of them, Naruto."

The Summon Bosses and one half-Bijuu stood ready to take down the Three-Tailed Demon.

* * *

Tobi looked from a distance as he felt, rather than saw, the massive gathering of Chakra in the distance. "Peculiar… Konoha seems to be assisting Kirigakure." He snarled, not liking where this was going. "And that feel of Chakra is ominous… Whose is it?"

"So, what do we do?"

Tobi, or Uchiha Obito, looked at Nagato, who seemed to have regained the use of his legs. "Jiraiya and Tsunade of the Sannin are there. The new Mizukage is also no pushover. And the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi and Shukaku are also present." He counted. "Should we fight them, it might very well end in our defeat. The Sanbi will be theirs, for now." Tobi was not amused about this wrench in his plans. "It's a shame the Sanbi Jinchuuriki bears the same seal as the Shukaku Jinchuuriki has… or had." He clenched his fists. "Jiraiya must have gotten really good at Fuuinjutsu to be able to have fixed the seal on Gaara."

"So… they will restrain the Sanbi?"

Obito nodded. "Yes, they will. Jiraiya by himself would have been enough for that. Yagura is no longer under my control, they'll most likely learn about me." The subject was a bitter one.

The duo were standing on another island far away from the coming battle. Nagato changed the subject as he moved around with his feet for the first time in years. He was still sluggish. "With this, my paths are useless to me now. I feel stronger, but also weaker."

Tobi inclined to agree. "Yes, where you were seven, you are now just one. But all those seven are in you. When you came to finally find me you were but a shell of your former self, thanks to Hanzo having destroyed your legs. But even your former self was weak. I will train you, Nagato, to become a true Rinnegan user."

"What are we going to do about Oto? They are becoming a nuisance."

"They do not know it, but Otogakure is walking on threads created by me. I can cut them down whenever I feel like it." Tobi commented calmly. "They are ants… and they are only a few."

Nagato didn't seem to agree, as what Sasori told him was quite troubling.

"We've found some promising Shinobi." Tobi turned away from where he was looking at before and removed his mask to reveal he carried two eternal Mangekyou Sharingan eyes. "They'll do fine dealing with Jinchuuriki."

Nagato, meanwhile, was looking in the distance. 'Uzumaki Naruto… I wonder.'

* * *

TBC

Hmmmm, thinking about it now, why didn't I send Yamato out along with the team to Kiri? I think it's because Naruto doesn't have Tsunade's necklace anyway in this fic. And Tsunade is more of a Senju than Yamato, anyway. I've got a surprise in store for that one, by the way…

FFN is still making my fic look a bit chaotic, with the weird scene breaks and the way paragraphs are split, it's annoying... This chap is 14k words and I don't want to go through all the trouble of fixing every little thing. Microsoft Word makes things look good, but FFN messes it up...

Shinobi Registration Numbers:

Jiraiya: 002301

Tenzo/Yamato: 010992

Gaara: 056001

Naruto: 012607

Temari: 053004

Kankurou: 054002

Dosu: 054114

Tayuya: 055007

When Naruto fights Fuuinjutsu Mode, I want you to picture him fighting the way Hanzo fought. With all those seals on the ground and the papers he was using, that was pretty cool. He even wounded Nagato when he wasn't lacking mobility!

At the moment, Naruto has a few modes: Fuuinjutsu Mode, Jinchuuriki Mode, Sage Mode, Kage Henge Mode and Kage Bunshin Mode.

Naruto's Eigou Kaiki will be explained in the next chapter! The next chapter will probably also hold the conversation between Gaara, Naruto and Itachi when Itachi performed the Tsukiyomi on them.

About Naruto's Summons: Google them if you don't know what a Griffin or a Cockatrice is. Take a look at Dragon's Dogma game information if you can't find them, that's where I picked them out of, anyway.

I uploaded this chapter without having it pre-read, so it might still contain many (grammatical) errors! Because you see, I don't have a prereader…

Also, I hope there are no plot mistakes in this chap, I tend to type away without thinking too much!

Oh well, thanks for reading!


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